White Princess
by xailurophilex
Summary: Valentina Caverly, a strange girl from a family full of secrets meets the infamous duo of Sebastian and Ciel. Follows the story line of Valentina as she tries to navigate the new century she's in, save her sister, and maybe get out of here alive. Seb/OC
1. The Four Caverly Sisters

**soo this is my first story and looking back at this i realise how god awful this chapter is. it gets better. i hope at least. take this chapter like a prologue. its not mandatory to read, really, its like a little peak into everything. either way things will be explained as the story progresses. **

"Valentina… Valentina, hold on. Stay awake."

I cough a little let my sister know that I haven't fallen asleep yet. I would smile for her but currently my body feels too weak to do that. Instead, I concentrate on breathing so my body can gather all the oxygen possible. I feel my stomach rise and fall with each intake and outtake.

"Where's Penelope?" I croak.

My sister, London, forces a smile as she looks at me. I must sound awful. "Shh, you don't need to talk. Penelope is coming with your serving right away."

I nod in confirmation, closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing again. Every inch of my body feels like it's on fire. Everything feels like a task to do. Obviously, I'm not well. I'm incredibly ill, in fact.

My family is what you would call a strange one. I currently live with my three sisters, Penelope, London, and Victoria. Fancy names, right? My mother loves that. It may seem like a lot of children, but when she was younger, four was actually quite a small amount. Mom gave birth to Penelope and Victoria first as twins, and then London and I followed a year later in the same way.

We're quite wealthy, too. Our family has quite a long generation and story behind it, and we're lucky enough to inherit some of the wealth that came from being part of the _Caverly _family. Therefore, my sisters and I have never had to suffer through hardly anything, except for this – I guess you can call it – genetic disease that's been passed through the generations.

In fact, it's so common, that we even have our own family medicine to treat it. And it works like a miracle spell every time.

I feel two hands lightly tap my cheeks. It feels cold on my heated skin. "Hey, hey, Valentina. Stay awake, will you?"

I realize that I've started to fall asleep. Quickly snapping myself out of it, I take a deep breath. It's best not to fall asleep when I'm as ill as this. Or else it'd be hard to wake myself up again.

A knock on the door sounds and relief falls through me. That must be Penelope. London raises her head to look at the door and mutters a small 'come in.' The door smoothly slides open and footsteps enter the room quietly.

"Hey, Vale." Penelope's voice is hushed and gentle. I open my eyes slightly to look at her. She sits herself on the bed next to me and I feel the mattress tilt a bit in her direction. London rushes to the other side of me and helps lift me up.

The small amount of liquid in the bowl Penelope's holding swishes a little as I get up. Penelope looks at me in pity as she takes in my form. "Gosh, I'm sorry. Here, eat up." She gathers a tiny bit onto the spoon she's holding and sticks the utensil in my direction. I open my mouth slightly and take in the food.

Almost immediately, I feel the cool, cold liquid go through my body and into my bloodstream. It feels like a nice breath of air just flew through me after not being able to breathe for the longest time. I let out a big breath of air. "Thanks." I say.

"No problem." Penelope smiles as she gathers a bit more of the content onto the spoon again. "Here, have some more."

I gladly agree, opening my mouth more easily and taking in the rest. When I'm finished, Penelope puts the bowl on top of the side table and smiles at me. London stops supporting my weight as I'm slowly able to do it myself.

Like I said, it's like a miracle. I feel pretty much good as new and it hasn't even been ten minutes. "How's Victoria doing?" I ask. Victoria has been in the same position as me. When London took _way _too long to deliver my serving to me, I assume it's because she's been tending to Victoria.

"I need to go help her right now." Penelope responds. She pushes herself off the bed and gathers the empty bowl and spoon.

"Help her?" I question. "Didn't you already feed her?"

Upon hearing my question, Penelope's shoulders dropped. She turns to give me an apologetic look. "Look, we're sorry. It's just that you've been sick for longer than she has."

"We?" I echo. I feel my heart begin to race at the news. Then, I turn to look at London incredulously. "You agreed to this?"

London nods at me with the same expression as Penelope. "You have been sick for longer than she, and Victoria said herself to help you first."

My jaw drops in disbelief. Did they abandon Victoria to help me? And Victoria agreed to this? This won't due. Shaking my head, I start to get out of the bed I'm in.

"Valentina!" London says, taking one of my arms in her hand in her hand and pulling me down. "What are you doing? You must rest. You just got better."

"I've rested long enough!" I reply as I tug my hand out of London's grasp. Flinging the blankets off of me, I start towards the door. "Penelope, you go get Victoria's serving right now. London and I will go monitor her."

Penelope nods at me, a guilty look strung on her face. I almost roll my eyes. I don't have time for this. Victoria is almost dying off. Being guilty is the _last _thing that she needs to be.

We four sisters have been together for quite some time. We've hardly had any boyfriends, and if we did, our relationships would hardly last a year. Dare I say, we're all pretty cold to other people if they're not someone we know really well, or someone in our family. If you had a family that moved around as much as us, or as wealthy as us, it'd be easy to understand why we act this way.

Victoria's room is two flights up and down the long hall in our house. We reach there in just a few minutes, with both of us running like crazy. When we enter, Victoria's lying in the middle of her bed. Her eyes are closed, her breath is shallow and she's clutching onto the blankets as if her life depended on it. I cautiously walk over to her bed and from the corner of my eye, I see London is doing the same.

"Vicky…" I whisper quietly, and she opens her eyes just a fracture to look at me. "How are you doing?"

Victoria swallows. She pulls her lips apart as they've probably stayed close for such a long time they're kind of stuck to each other. "Vale. How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I reply as I take one of her hands in mine. "I can't believe you told them to –"

"Hey. I'm breathing."

"You're _suffering._" I correct. London reaches over to pat and fix the pillows and blankets while I draw little circles on Victoria's hands. "We all know how uncomfortable this is."

Victoria smiles. She turns her head, closes her eyes and shrugs slightly. "You've been sick far longer than I have. I didn't want you to die."

"But you've always been the fragile one."

_"Hey."_

I chuckle slightly. I'm glad she's trying to lighten the mood in this situation. "It's true, though."

Victoria doesn't reply. I watch as her breathing gets shallower. I knit my eyebrows. She better not be falling asleep. "Hey," I say, tugging on her hand. "Don't go to sleep."

Victoria doesn't reply and I repeat the action, and voice the same commands again. I lift my head up to look at London and she seems to be staring down at Victoria with the same worried look. "Where's Penelope?"

"I – I don't know." London says. She reaches down and grabs Victoria's hands in the same fashion that I did. "She's coming. Vicky. Stay awake. Vicky."

Victoria stirs slightly in her spot. A tiny bit of relief washes through me. Victoria groans and her fingers wrap around my hand. "Where's Penelope? I feel a lot worse than usual."

I almost want to cry. I hate seeing my sister like this. "She's coming. Hold on."

"I'm try–" Her speech is cut short as she suddenly starts coughing. A sequence of non-stop noises flow out of her. In a hurry, London reaches over to lift Victoria into a sitting position. I put my hand on Victoria's back and give her a few gentle pats.

Worry starts to settle in me as after quite some time, Victoria's coughing doesn't seem to be calming down. London and I make eye contact. Her expression mirrors my scared one. "Victoria, are you –"

Suddenly, Victoria's body jerks forward. Her brunette hair flies past me as I realize that she's vomiting something onto the blankets. My eyes widen in shock when I realize what just came out of her body.

Blood.

"Victoria!" London cries. I can feel tears starting to sting my eyes because I'm worrying so much. "Victoria, are you okay?"

"Penelope!" I yell as loud as I can down the long hall. I don't know why, but I'm furious. If they treated Victoria before me none of this would be happening. "Penelope, get your fucking ass up here right now!"

I look to Victoria again to see that London has set her head down on the pillow again. Victoria's eyes are squeezed shut and she's shaking her head. "No. No, no, _no. _This is awful. I want to sleep."

"You can't!" London says. She gently reaches over to pat on Victoria's cheeks. "Stay awake. Please. Stay awake."

"Vicky." I join in, trying to hold back tears. "Vicky, please."

Suddenly, the door across the room flies open and Penelope's little body flies in. Her dyed pink hair is now in a messy ponytail. She holds the bowl in her hand as she rushes to beside Victoria's bed. Upon seeing the pool of blood, her eyes widen. "What happened?!"

"She coughed up blood." I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. Feed her. _Now."_

Penelope nods. I step back so she can take a closer spot next to Victoria. Setting the bowl down on the end table, she tries to get Victoria's attention. "Vicky… wake up. I'm here." When her actions gain no visible reaction from Victoria she lifts her head to London. "What happened?"

London looks just as confused. In fact, so am I. "She's… tired. She was in a coughing fit and…."

"Well get her up!"

"We're trying–!"

"Knock knock!"

The sudden intrusion of a new voice causes all three of us to quickly snap our heads to the door. When we see a stranger that is not familiar to any of us, a small scream escaped out of our mouths simultaneously.

Our voices together must've been loud – and high pitched I wouldn't know – because the stranger makes the most obvious gestures of sticking his pinky in his ear as if to see if it's okay. "Geez, what was that for? You girls are most certainly so rude."

The stranger standing in front of us looks, well, _pretty._ With flowing red hair and glasses to match he – or she? It's kind of hard to tell – holds what looks like a chainsaw in between his hands. My eyes widen as I see that. Why hadn't I realize that he was holding a death trap before? When he sees that I'm staring at his weapon, he grins. I gasp as I realize that his teeth are all sharpened at the end to perfection.

"Like it?" He asks, waving it around as if it was a prize and _not _a dangerous weapon. He slides one loving finger over it, staring at the saw in admiration. "I made it myself. It is beautiful is it not?"

I try to reply, but my vocal chords seem to be failing me. The stranger in front of me tilts his head to the side with a smug "hmmm?" Thank goodness London's here, as she's the first one to talk. "How'd you get into our house?"

"Oh, is that _really _the question you want to ask?"

Penelope beside me shakes her head in disbelief. "What?"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" He sticks his hand out in front of him and waves it up and down. "I won't hurt you guys… yet." The redheaded stranger snickers maniacally at what seems to be his inside joke. I realize that despite what he's dressed in – which is something that no one can really take seriously – he is not someone that we want to be messing with.

What'd he mean by _the question you want to ask, _though? Shaking my head, I decide to take a different approach. "What are you doing here?"

The stranger tilts his head and winks at me, the grin returning to his face. "_That's the question! _Oh," He turns his gaze to inspect the four of us. "You girls are really the attractive four aren't you? It's so sad to see one of you go…" He feigns sadness before shaking his head. "Oh well!"

"See one of us go?" I echo. What is he implying here? That one of us is going to die? How dare he say that when he just _barged _into our house.

The redhead nods his head. "MmHmmn. In fact, it says so right here." He reaches into his long trench coat and pulls out a small book. Casually, he flips through the pages. His eyes curve into a smile when he spots what he's looking for. "Victoria Caverly. Death at August 2nd, 2014. 2:56 PM." The stranger then closes the book with a maniacal grin.

"No." I say as his words settle in me. I find myself stepping backwards into Victoria. "She's not dead." I tell him, even though I'm not too sure of that fact myself. With a wildly beating heart, I stick a finger under Victoria's nose. When I feel that breath is still coming out of her, I turn back to the redhead. "See? Told you. _Not. Dead._"

"Didn't you hear me?" The stranger looks annoyed. He puts one hand on his hip and rolls his eyes. "I said _2:56. _It is 2:47 right now."

"Then why are you here?" London asks.

He shrugs, carelessly waving around the chainsaw. "I'm trying to take precautions on these things. Not to mention that doing this is _so much fun._"

Penelope seems to have snapped out of her shocked stage too because I hear her scoff. "Doing what exactly?"

"Souls." The redhead replies as if he were telling us about the weather. He uses his tongue to slowly swipe across his sharp teeth. A shiver runs down my spine at how menacing that looks. "I collect _souls._"

"Souls?" Penelope scoffs. "So what, like a grim reaper?"

The stranger tilts his head and grins. "Exactly that! Oooh, am I famous here, too? I'm touched."

London steps forward. I see that her fists are clenched. Even though only her back is to me, I can tell she's angry. The man in front of us is clearly insane. London seems to do the same. It's apparent she and I both agree that he's just wasting time. "Get out!"

The stranger makes a tsking noise while wagging his fingers. "Wrong answer!" He takes his chainsaw out, and begins to fiddle with it. In a few moments a humming sound comes out of the weapon as the blades start to run.

I can feel my sisters tense around me. I know that their hearts are probably beating as fast as mine is. Is he really going to kill Victoria? In my head, I've already decided that I won't let him do that. I take a cautious step towards the redhead with the spinning blade.

"Wait!"

To my surprise, he actually halts in his step. He doesn't look too pleased to do so, though. "What is it?" He says in a sassy tone.

"She's…" I start. "She's not actually going to die." That sentence gives me a raised eyebrow from the redhead. Before he can open his mouth and refute that statement, I continue. "I mean, look! We know that she's sick. But we have medicine. We have medicine that will save her. Just… believe us. Please? Let us save her."

The redhead stares at us for a few moments. I'm starting to fear that he'll think that we're lying to him. However, after a while, he lets out a small huff of breath. "All right. I honestly would just like to see what you girls can come up with." The grin I'm starting to hate so much surfaces on his face again. "This should be fun. But remember, ten minutes, girls…"

"Thank you." I turn to Penelope and she looks like she's about to cry. With a hand covering her mouth, she repeats her gratitude. "Thank you so much just..."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm merely curious as to _how _you girls are planning on saving her." Reaching into his trench coat, he pulls out his little book again. Penelope and London start getting ready to feed Victoria. I keep an eye on the redhead to fake sure he's not planning any funny business. "Like I said, it's written here that she's going to… hey! I have an appointment in ten minutes! Why did I not see this? Oh, but look at this… this is in the 1800s. Oh, this is so exciting! This means I get to try out my time machine again!"

I scrunch my nose. What is this guy on? Maybe we shouldn't be that worried of his _killing our sister _threat. He seems crazy. "Time machine?"

The redhead nods. He pulls out another little device out of his coat. I squint at what it is. It's small. _Really _small. Almost the same size as my iPod Nano. If not, tinier. I almost scoff at how miniscule that is. "Are you saying that that can get you through time? I don't believe you."

"Well, you better believe it, you brat." He scowls at me. With his eyes squinted and his sharp teeth bearing, it's quite a frightening image. "I came from 3023 all the way over here."

"You did?"

"MmnHmmn." It's almost scary how his menacing look suddenly turns into one of admiration. He holds up his little device. "Isn't it fantastic? I was only trusted with one recently." He brings the device closer to his face. I look, completely creeped out as he kisses the device. Do the two need to get a room?

He clasps his hand around the device and turns towards us again. "Oh, what a shame this is, _really, _but I do have another appointment in ten minutes and I just _can not _pass up another opportunity to use this little thing again." He shakes his fist holding his time travelling thing. "According to my book, though, your sister is still going to die." A small chuckle escapes him. "I'm completely sorry." The blades on his chainsaw start to run again. "Not!"

I look behind to Penelope and London and see that they're still trying to get Victoria awake. I almost am starting to think that it's hopeless when Victoria starts stirring in her place. Penelope looks over to me, worry clouding her eyes. Victoria can still be saved. He can't kill her now.

Turning back to the stranger, I see him fiddling with his small device. After pressing a few numbers, he aims it at the large mirror on the wall. A small signal flies through the device and suddenly, the mirror starts to look all distorted and weird.

The redhead grins at my confused reaction. "This shouldn't take long. I'll just get your sister and off we go! I'll just deal with her cinematic record _later_."

I decide to ignore his gibberish. There's a much more important matter at hand here. "You can't do that!"

"Do you really want to test me?" An eye roll from him.

"Yes." I confirm, even though I'm practically shaking on the inside. "I'll… I'll jump through the portal with you. After you."

"Just to save your sister?" He questions. "Well, I got to say, I'm touched. So sad that she has to go."

"I'll do it!" I'm not really going to. I still believe that he's crazy, but humoring him might talk him out of killing our sibling.

A sigh. A groan. An eye roll. It's as if I'm being way too stupid for him. "The portal allows two people at a time. After I jump in with your sister, all you're going to be doing is crashing into a mirror."

"It's done." Penelope's soft voice stops the retort that I was about to say. Both the claimed-to-be-reaper and I turn to look at Penelope. "It's done. She can be saved."

"Oh, really?" The redhead replies. Sarcasm drips from his every word. He pulls out his little book again and opens it. "Not according to here. Says her death is in four minutes, actually."

"Then give her time!" London says. She puts a hand on her hip, an agitated look on her face. "The medication doesn't work as fast for her as it does with the rest of her."

"You silly girls. Don't you understand that I don't have time? Guess she'll just have to die."

"No, please –" In a panic, I look back towards my sisters for help. I'm surprised to find them both looking at me, too. In a few moments I realize that they're trying to tell me something. They've got a plan, and I think I know exactly what it is.

And they need my help to execute it.

I nod back at them to tell them that I understand what's going on. The redhead is still spurting some nonsense in the background. I ignore him, instead making eye contact with my two sisters.

We all begin mouthing to each other.

_ One._

_ Two._

_ Three._

As soon as we reach the last number, we all burst into action. Penelope and London jump onto the stranger who falls down under their weight. In all honesty, he looks more surprised than anything else that two girls just randomly jump on him. Thank goodness his chainsaw wasn't on.

Me, I run towards the bed to lift Victoria up. Silently, I thank my sisters for convincing me to take karate a few years back or else I probably wouldn't have the strength to lift her. Starting to run, I realize that the only door to exist this room is blocked by the stranger who is just beginning to get my two sisters off of him.

If I run past him, he'll definitely be able to reach for me and get me.

Taking a deep breath, I decide to do the next best thing. Walking towards the mirror that he hit with his little 'time travelling device,' I close my eyes and walk through. It surprises me that I don't just meet glass but instead, I _do _seem to be going through a portal.

"Hey, little brat! You get back here!"

Victoria just needs a few more minutes to get better. I don't have time for this. Instead of walking back like the redhead wants me to, I take another step forward away from them until I can't hear his cries anymore. Air gushes around me, and a weird force seems to be pushing my back.

I try to stay awake so that I can make sure that I'm holding onto Victoria. However, the longer I stay here with the rapid wind running around me, the more tired I become.

Soon, my eyelids close, and I drift into unconsciousness.

**hello hello ^_^**

**new author, new story, going to try to fit in**

**i realise that the entire story may not make any sense and that im probably a very bad writer but this is the first time writing fanfiction and i have this great new idea in my head but b/c its an idea i never really tried before im kind of having difficulty writing but i hope i will get better with each chapter ^_^ sorry about the weird time travel thing I just really want a good reason for her to be teleported back to the 19th century without just saying "it happened" i do have really fun storylines for this that i want to try out so if you can, please stick with me**

**so basically, i dont think we ever met grell when he's (or she, i refer to him as a he) just plain reaping souls without sebastion or ciel (correct me if im wrong) so writing him for this was a bit difficult **

**hope you want to stick with me for the next chapter :P**

**adios~~~~~~**


	2. The Kind Boy Dressed in Blue

The quiet chirp from birds is what wakes me up. It's so soft and quiet that it almost feels refreshing. I feel my body argue with my brain, begging it to allow just a few more minutes of sleep. Nonetheless I open my eyes only to be blinded by the harsh sunlight.

For a moment I lay there, trying to figure out what exactly is happening. One fact is for sure, I'm not in my bed but instead outside lying on the floor. _What am I possibly doing here?_

Suppressing a groan, I lift myself off of the pavement I'm laying on and onto my feet. As my blood rush down to my feet again I find myself standing still for a second, trying not to feel too dizzy.

I seem to be in a garden, decorated by plenty of hedges and bushes, all neatly cut. There are patches of beautiful flowers in a few spots and those seem to be beautifully grown as well. Whoever owns this place must pay exquisite attention to their plants every day.

Looking around I realise that the garden connects to the back of a somewhat large house. Actually, large would be an understatement. Taking over probably at least a block, it's decorated with bushes and leafs. It seems to be built by bricks. That must've taken workers a long time to build. The house looks massive. However, the longer I stare at it, the more I feel that it looks out of place. It looks too Victorian, way too out of this century. I don't think I've ever seen a mansion like this in my city before. It's not possible for me to suddenly be standing near one.

Unless... the crazy stranger from before isn't all that crazy. I shake my head and suddenly realise how much it hurts to do so when a sharp pain goes through it. When I landed on the ground, I must have hit a few things.

Still, I pause, a time traveling machine? That's impossible. Perhaps he just teleported me somewhere else, somewhere where they still celebrate the Victorian era.

I laugh at my thoughts. I'm being ridiculous. If I don't believe that time traveling is possible, why should I believe that teleportation is any more realistic? However... I think back to the portal that I seem to have gone through. It definitely was a portal, and it definitely brought me here. If it isn't time traveling, it's got to be teleportation.

Nonetheless, figuring out how I got here isn't going to help the fact that I appear to completely lost. When I went through the mirror, I didn't exactly have the time to grab a few bucks and prepare myself for the adventure to come. Not to mention that I'm currently without clothes, shelter and food, and I'm probably injured somewhere, too. The best I can do right now is to beg someone to take me in.

But who?

The mansion in front of me seems to be screaming at me to choose it. It's big so they must have room for me. Along with that, the garden is so beautiful, they must also be dedicated in taking care of things - or in this case, people. Nodding my head internally, I decide to give it a go. I landed here, did I not? That means that someone out there wants me to check this house out.

There is a door at the back of the mansion but I don't want to scare anyone from entering their house from their backyard. Instead, I find a narrow path to the front of the house. The entrance to the house is decorated with no less amazement. Trees, flowers, bushes, ponds. This place seems to have it all.

Gathering my courage, I walk up the small flight of stairs and up towards the main door. The closer I get to it, the bigger and taller it seems to be. When I'm right in front of it, it appears to be a massive wooden door that I have to crane my neck up in order to see the top. There is a knocker on the door, but I decide to use my fist instead.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

I wait for someone to open the door. Patiently, I stand here, trying to calm down my beating hear in fear of meeting a stranger, or possibly getting myself in danger. When no one answers the door for a while, I knit my eyebrows. Perhaps no one is home?

Lifting my fist, I decide to try again when suddenly, the door opens in front of me. I am greeted by a tall slim man. He holds himself elegantly with his posture being perfect and straight. As soon as he sees me, he takes a moment to asses me and I do the same to him.

The first thing I notice is his outfit. All black, from head to toe. His tailcoat falls long behind him, the same color as his shoes and pants. The only part of him that's not black is his white shirt sticking out through his jacket. Even his hair matched his outfit. It's jet black and falls over his face and partially cover his eyes. It's messy and long, like he hasn't cut it for months.

I furrow my eyebrows. Why would someone be wearing something like that now? It's all too... old fashioned.

I internally shake my head. _No, stop thinking about the time traveling thing again._

His face though... oh, my. The man in front of me is the definition of attractive. He's currently looking at me like he's confused, but he pulls the face off like an adorable lost puppy. The only thing unusual about his face is his eyes. It's pure red, almost the colour of blood. Perhaps he wears contacts?

As soon as I finish checking him out, he bends himself at the waist and then comes up again. It occurs to me that he's bowing, which catches me off guard. No one has ever bowed to me like this for years. "Hello, Miss." I almost swoon at his voice. It's crisp, velvety, low, smooth and oh, so, seductive. And was that an English accent I hear? "Is there anything that I may assist you with?"

Oh, yeah. It is definitely an English accent, and it matches his physical appearance perfectly. Not to mention that the way he speaks is so gentleman-like. Coming to a conclusion in my head, I decide to trust him. No one who acts like this can be evil.

I nod at his question and open my mouth to speak. "Actually, I -"

"Sebastian. Who is at the door?"

I close my mouth promptly at the interference at a new voice. Sebastian - who I assume is the man in front of me, turns around to the owner of the voice. I look back, too, and is surprised to see a little kid standing on a flight of stairs leading to the door. The boy carries himself delicately, with his head held high and his posture upright. He has an eye patch over his left eye and a walking stick in his right hand. He's dressed in a blue trench coat with black shoes and matching knee high socks.

He, too, looks too old fashioned to be from the 21st century. Can he be...? No. That time machine bullshit is really getting to my head.

"I'm not quite sure, Master." Sebastian replies in his calm voice. I raise my eyebrows. Master? Is the little boy the head of this house? I shake my head again. No, no! This can_n__ot _be the 19th century. "It seems to be a lady."

"Lady?" The little boy asks. He, too, has an English accent. The way he speaks sounds like he's from an upper class. "Did I have an appointment today, Sebastian? Did you not remind me?"

I take the time to check out as much of the mansion as I can. Safe to say, it's huge. Polished, shined and spotless from almost top to bottom. The stairs that the little boy is standing on holds two more staircases that lead both left and right up towards the rest of the house. There is a giant carpet beautifully placed in the center of the hallway.

Sebastian shakes his head at that implication. "No, no. Please do not assume I would do such a thing as that. I had no idea that someone was going to visit today."

"Is that so?" The boy takes a few steps down the stairs and towards me. He hides behind Sebastian, though, as if he's afraid that I will hurt him. "Pardon my rudeness, Miss." He says to me. "But may I ask what is it that you may want from me?"

Yes. I want to know where I am, how I got here, and also I want to ask for food, a roof over my head, and clothes until I'm back on my feet and back home again. However, that is obviously something that I can't say. "Yes, hello I-"

I promptly shut my mouth. I can't say anything I want either. Suppose this _is _the 19th century, how would I get a master of a house to let me be his guest? Well, usually I would sprout some bullshit sob story. Masters are usually a sucker for a pretty girl. Though I don't want to sound arrogant, I'm well aware that I am one. However, this master looks to be 10, 12 tops. It's not like I can convince him by being attractive.

Nonetheless, I decide to try a sob story. I put my best English accent on - as it would seem suspicious for a lady like me to have travelled all the way from America by boat, I attempt to speak again. "Hello, I greatly apologise." I wait, watching to see if they buy the accent or not. It's been years since I travelled to England, and not to mention the way they're speaking seems to be traditional English. Though I am kind of familiar with it, it's not an accent I practice.

When they don't seem to question me, I continue. "I must ask for your help, please. You see, I'm lost, quite lost. I found myself awoken in your garden earlier, aching all over. I fear I've broken a few bones. I am not familiar with this place. I don't know where else I can go." Holding my breath, I wait for his reply. Was that believable enough? Do I seem to be someone of the 19th century?

The boy studies me for a moment, his eyes running up and down my body. I quietly sigh when I realise I'm in my pyjamas. A tshirt and booty shorts is definitely not appropriate at a place like this.

"You're saying you seek shelter from me, am I wrong?" His voice is soft but strong. He's confident in what he's saying.

I'm surprised by how upfront his question is. "Y-yes."

"That is quite a lot to ask from a stranger."

I pale. Oh, no. He's going to reject me. But then, where else would I go? I would have to wander the streets. Perhaps I can find another man to help.

"Come." I jump in surprise at his voice. The boy sticks his hand out upward towards me. He's not smiling, but he has a welcoming look on his face. "We shall discuss this inside. It is improper for me to keep a lady out like this."

I sigh silently in relief, glad he bought my story. In my defense, it _is _what happened, I just merely stretched the truth a tiny bit. I gladly take his hand as he guides me into the house. Sebastian bows at me as I enter and closes the door behind us.

**okay okay so this is how its probably going to work**

**on my other stories on other websites, i usually update once a week or once every two weeks or so.**

**however, im _super super super _excited for this story so i really want to be updating more and writing more but in order for me to do that ill have to write every chapter in short snippets because usually, every chapter for me is like 6k+ words or so and i know that people dont think thats a lot and people usually write more than that but PHEW thats a lot to me and i can only manage that much in a week _ ahahaha im a loser**

**so, ill probably be updating in like short chapters like this every day or every other day. i hope readers (i know there isnt a lot because im new and all but :P ) will stick with me through each and every chapter because i _do_** **have a lot of stuff i want to write along with original arcs and _ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh _im so excited**

**please stick with me. review if you want to **

**adios~~~~~**


	3. The Little Valentina Who Cried Wolf

The hall the young boy leads me through is a long and complicated one, filled with many doors on both sides of me. The floor is covered with a velvety red carpet, and I wonder what it would feel like to run through it bare feet. The wall of each hall is beautifully decorated with designs. The only light source are flames from what I assume are gas lights hanging from the wall, but the bright orange and red that illuminate from them seem to give the mansion a more welcoming feeling. Sebastian follows closely behind me, trailing after me like a bodyguard.

"If I may ask," I begin, remembering to fake an English accent. My voice comes out soft and quiet, as the entire walk so far has been nothing but silent. The little boy walking gracefully in front of me turns his head to look at me, but Sebastian does not bother to ask if I were talking to him or not. I notice that it is assumed that when someone is talking, they are talking to the boy. Because of this, it's obvious that the little boy's position is higher than the man dressed in black. "Is Sebastian your –"

"Butler? Yes." The boy replies. He stops walking in front of a door and looks up at me. He gestures towards it. "Here we are, please go on in."

Before I can even touch the door to open it, a gloved hand is pushing it open for me instead. I jump a little bit in shock and look back to see Sebastian smiling at me, his head way too close to mine for comfort.

Someone clears their throat and I turn around to the turquoise-haired boy. "Do ignore Sebastian. He is only here to help. Please, go in."

Awkwardly, I nod, forcing my feet to step through the door frame and into the other room. This room, like the rest of the house, exceeds my expectations. I would say that my sisters and I are quite wealthy, and we live in a pretty nice house ourselves, but it's nowhere as big as this. Is this mansion only for a boy and his butler?

A dark coffee table sits in the center of the room and surrounding it, are two loveseats and one armchair. The room itself is decorated to perfection. It makes me wonder how a single butler can keep such a big mansion in tip top shape all by himself.

Assuming that the tiny master is going to be sitting in the large armchair, I maneuver myself to one of the loveseats located across from him. The boy walks over to the armchair and sits himself down while casually leaning his walking stick on the chair. I'm tempted to ask if he really needs one, but decide that it's best if I don't. I should try not to offend him if I'm trying to gain something out of him.

As soon as he's seated, I hear Sebastian's voice overhead. "I'll go prepare some tea, master. Would the Lady like anything to eat?"

It takes me a second to realise that he was talking to me. "Hm? Oh, no, it's fine. Thank you."

"Very well, then." With both hands held to his sides, he bows down at us before walking out the door. I watch his back as he exits, silently admiring how elegant he looks while doing that. He is quite the attractive fella.

"So, I guess we shall get down to business."

"Hm?" My attention snaps back to the turquoise-haired boy who is looking at me with a questioning expression. I feel a rush of embarrassment fly through me as I realise that I've been staring at his butler for quite the time. "Yes, I guess we should. Uhm, Mister…" I trail off, waiting for him to fill in the blank.

The little boy laughs slightly in his seat. "Oh, that's right. We never did properly introduce ourselves. My apologies. I am head of house, Ciel Phantomhive, and who may you be?"

My eyes widen at this info. This little boy is the head of house? He looks so young, though. The responsibilities that he must be given at such a young age… "Oh, well, hello..." I rack my brain, trying to remember what they would call someone in his position at this time. "Earl… Phantomhive…?" When he doesn't seem to disagree with what I called him, I continue, silently patting myself on the back for doing such a great job at guessing his title. "My name is Valentina Caverly, but you just have to call me Vale. My full name is really a mouthful."

"I will have to disagree. Do you not like your name?"

"No, no. I think its a nice name."

"Then I will call you that. Is that alright?"

I can't help but feel shocked at how he talks. How old is he really? He speaks so maturely, and he really is quite the charmer. Looking at him once again, I realise that he does look incredibly adorable from up close. "Yes."

"But of course." Ciel crosses one leg over the other. The way he's sitting – perfect posture, kind look on his face, head held adorably high – makes me realise just how bad my posture is. Subtly, I try to mimic his position. "Now, let's get down to business. You say you woke up in my garden?"

A knock on the door shuts me up before I even speak. The door gushes open and in comes a metal cart rolling on wheels and Sebastian follows shortly after. Ciel immediately sits up towards the back of his chair as he waits for Sebastian to serve him.

The butler takes the tea pot placed on the cart. With delicate fingers, he pours the liquid from the pot into two small teacups. He then places each up on a tiny plate and proceeds to serve us the drink.

Ciel takes his cup from Sebastian without a second though. I wonder how long this man has been serving this little boy. It sure is an odd sight. Sebastian then hands me my serving and I promptly take the cup from his hands and into my own.

"Today's desert for the evening is _La Tarte aux Pommes avec le crème glacée_, or, simply called apple pie served with ice cream. The ice cream was something I added myself, as I know how much the young master enjoys his sweets."

As Sebastian cuts a little piece from the pie he baked, I decide to take a sip of the tea. Upon tasting it, I cringe a little. The taste is so strong. I look up to see Ciel taking another drink as Sebastian places a piece of the pie in front of him.

So Lord Phantomhive enjoys strong tasting tea. _Noted_.

Ciel cuts a little bit of the pie with his fork. I watch him as he tastes the desert. He and Sebastian both look so incredibly comfortable with the situation. Are they not aware that a stranger is in their house? "Valentina. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? Sebastian's quite a chef."

It has been quite a while since I last ate, and the pie does look really good. "Well, if you don't mind…"

"It won't be a problem at all. Sebastian?"

Sebastian obeys in an instant, cutting out another small piece and handing it to me. I take my own taste of the desert, making sure that I don't look like a slob when I'm eating it, which is how I would usually eat at home.

The taste is fantastic. There is a perfect blend of sweetness along with the softness of the crust. Penelope makes all the food we eat at home, and I consider her a pretty good cook, but what she makes is nothing compared to what I taste now.

"Valentina." I look up from the piece of heaven on my plate. "Shall we discuss now? It seems we have been interrupted a few times."

"Yes," I reply, averting my attention from the pie. If I can convince Ciel to let me stay here, I would probably be eating stuff like this all the time. "You see, it's just that I'm so lost right now, and I really am not sure where I am. I just need a place to rest until I get everything sorted out."

"A place to rest, huh?"

"Yes. Please, my Lord, you must understand."

The little boy eats another piece of his desert, completely ignoring my request for a while. When he answers me, it's not one that I like to hear. "I understand that you appear to be quite disoriented right now and me welcoming you as a guest would probably be the most beneficial thing towards you." I open my mouth to reply but he continues speaking before I'm able to say anything. "However, it is not my responsibility as the head of this house, nor as the Earl of Phantomhive to accept people in need. I run a toy company, not a charity home."

Toy Company? That explains the little models of figurines lying throughout the place.

I feel my blood run cold at his response. Yes, it might not be his responsibility but I figured that a little boy like this can't possibly be so cynical to not accept a damsel in distress.

"However, this does not mean that I will not attempt to help. This is the Phantomhive after all, and we aim to please our visitors. You say you're injured? Sebastian will help you with your wounds and then we will take you to a nearby motel. You look to be around here, I'm sure your husband will eventually find you and bring you home."

"I'm… not wed yet." If he insists on not letting me stay, I can start begging. Maybe he'll accept me from how pathetic I look.

"Then I'm sure you'll find your way home by yourself. I will even provide you with some extra clothing for your trip."

Right. My clothes. They're probably too revealing. I feel tears starting to crowd my eyes. In honesty, I'm scared. If a little boy is this cold to me, how will everyone else act?

"Please," I say, trying one more time. "You must understand. There's more than what meets the eye. I… I…" Come on, Valentina, think of a good lie. An idea passes through me and I decide that it's better than nothing. "I was kidnapped, _tortured_, for years. I just barely escaped yesterday. That's why I'm wearing clothes like this. I must've passed out in your garden as I ran. Please," I allow the tears to surface my eyes as I continue to fib. "You must help. I can't go back without anyone to help me."

Something I said must have stroke a chord in Ciel. He freezes momentarily, and though he recovered shortly after, it's not something that went by unnoticed by me. "You were kidnapped and tortured?" He sounds as if he wants to say something more.

"Yes." I kind of feel guilty for doing this.

"For how long?"

How long seems believable? "Years."

The young master seems to be thinking. His eyes stare out blankly at nothing. When he speaks, his voice sounds a little less friendly than before. "The world isn't a fair place, Valentina, and sometimes we will fall without ever getting up. I do admire your ambition in trying to get on your feet again after you've fallen. Few people are able to do that."

"T-thank you?" What is this kid on?

"Alright. The Phantomhive welcomes you as a guest here _if_ that is what you have been through and you are not telling me lies."

"I'm not." I feel my insides jumping around in excitement. I can't believe that worked. I try to hide my feelings by putting the most convincing face I can manage.

"Sebastian." I almost forgot that the butler is even here. He's standing in the corner, and he's so quiet that his presence is hardly noticeable. However, when he takes a step forward into the room, all my attention is drawn on to him.

"Young Master?"

"Take Valentina to the guest room. Give her a fresh change of clothing, too."

The butler smiles mischievously as his eyes land on me. However, I have a feeling that the expression he gives me is anything but from a friendly intent. "Of course, My Lord."

**so much to say in the authors note that no one probably reads**

**yayy for dark philosophical Ciel that happens every time you bring up his past. I just watched the latest of book of circus so haha and it's the weekend so I wrote moreeee**

**sebastian and ciel are both such hard characters to write simply because Sebastian can go from risking ciels life with snakes to trying his best to cover up ciels slave mark without being ordered to and ciel goes from treating the writer in the house murder arc with kindness and smiles to screaming and insulting at lau and agni. It's hard to imagine what triggers and causes what type of reaction to both of them. Perhaps it's just bc I'm new at fanfic :p**

**that may also be why the ciel may seem kinda bipolar cause I'm still so confused on how to write them. I think when I get used to them I'll get better**

**But yeah I don't really know how I feel about this chapter bc it went in the direction I wanted it to go sure but the conversations, especially the one between oc and Ciel feels too forced and dragged out to me, and also too repetitive and unrealistic. But I felt that Ciel would not just accept a random girl in his house so I mean I guess this was more in character than him just letting her stay?**

**oh and my first review thank you so much ^_^ I would think that most are pretty in character, but they're more in character with anime!ciel than manga!ciel which are almost two different characters imo I'm going to try to write with manga!ciel and Sebastian so I'be been reading on everything ciel and Sebastian for the past week or so xD**

**anyways wow I wrote a lot. this type of authors note won't happen often I swear I'm just really excited**

**review if you want it will please me :p I will reply **

**sebastian scene in next chapter yayyyyyyyyy I'm so excited to write it**

**adios~~~~~~~~**


	4. The Scary Butler Dressed in Black

This time through the mansion, Sebastian walks in front of me as he leads me to the guest room. We've left Ciel in the previous room, where he said that he will be managing a few papers for his company. The amount of work he does at such a young age still surprises me. I figure that this time would be the perfect time to ask Sebastian a little about this place, especially since it's so awkwardly silent.

I run a few steps to catch up with Sebastian who's currently ahead of me. "Sebastian. May I call you Sebastian?"

The butler only spares a tiny glance at me. "You may call me whatever you please. As of now, you are a guest of the Phantomhive." _Yeah, and you don't seem too pleased about that fact, either, Sebastian. _

"Well, what do all the other guests call you by?"

"Whatever they wish to call me."

I let out a deep sigh at how obnoxious he's being. I get that it's polite, but it's so overly done that it feels like too much. For some reason I think he understands how annoying he's being, and he's trying to be so purposely. "I'll just call you Sebastian. Is that okay?"

"Of course. That is my name, after all."

"Perfect. So Sebastian," I pause, trying to think of a good way to phrase my question. "Isn't Cie- uh, Lord Phantomhive a little too young to be, well, an Earl?"

Sebastian doesn't even bother to look at me when he speaks. "I believe that the young master is of perfect age."

"Really?" I reply with raised eyebrows. "So how old is he, anyways?"

"Is this information important for the Lady to know?"

I shrug. "Well, of course it's not _important. _I'm merely curious."

Sebastian's pair of red eyes land on me. He studies my expression. "Well, if that were the case, then I may tell you that The Lord is of twelve as of now."

_Twelve?_ My eyes widen. Even in this century, twelve has still _got _to be a premature age for becoming an Earl. I decide not to voice my opinion as if may be offensive. Speaking of centuries, though, "Also, if I may ask, what, uh, what century are we currently in?"

"You don't know what century we're in, My Lady?"

Well excuse me for living in the 21st century only to come to _this _place, where everything seems so Victorian Era that I doubt my sanity. Nonetheless, I try to find an excuse for my question. "Yes, ah, you see... I was locked away for so many years that right now, I'm unsure of what year we're in." Oh, please. Even _I _don't believe that.

"Yes, I do recall you telling the young master of your kidnapping tale." Sebastian frowns, as if dissatisfied with something. "If you must know, we are currently in the 19th century. I don't imagine anything has changed that much during the few years that you were, well, _kidnapped_."

Well, to me, everything has changed. However, that's not what I'm focused on. I knit my eyebrows. Was the device really a time machine? I feel as if I'm in a huge reality TV show prank. This must be a prank... _right?_

Sebastian must have noticed the discomfort on my face. "Is something the matter?"

"Hm?" I shake my head as I look away. "No, nothing."

"Are you perhaps afraid that we're going to kidnap you as well? I can assure you that the young master is not that unrealistic."

_Unrealistic? _I look at Sebastian to see a small, cynical smile dancing on his lips. My jaw almost drops at what he's implying. "You think my kidnapping story is a joke!"

Sebastian expression turns into one of worry, as if he's offended by what I said. "Oh dear, my Lady, pardon me, but that is not what I said."

"You _implied_ it!" I should have known when he called my kidnapping story a "tale."

"I would never. That would be improper for a butler to do."

I glare at this man, anger flowing through me. Who the hell does he think he is? He does everything that a butler should do, sure, but his attitude and his way of speaking is absolutely rude.

I decide to stay a few steps behind Sebastian as I'm no longer interested in keeping a conversation with him. We enter though many curves and turns through the path we're taking. When we pass the main hall, the giant picture on the wall that I saw when I entered this house greets me again. This time, because I'm able to move more freely, I walk to right beside the painting to get a close up on how it looks.

The painting's details are exquisite and once again, something in this house takes my breath away. I notice that Sebastian has walked a bit further and I take a few steps, catching up to him so that I'm the same number of steps behind him as I were before.

"Wow." I mutter under my breath to myself. "I would kill for a place like this."

Sebastian stops for a millisecond. He turns his head around to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Pardon me?"

Oh crap. In a situation like this, saying that I would murder someone for their house is not the best idea. Even if it is just an expression. He definitely heard what I said, although he's pretending like he's not."No, it's a -"

"Also, my Lady, where did your English accent go?"

I freeze, suddenly remembering again that I need one. Now that he brings it up to me, I find myself scanning the past few minutes to see when I subconsciously dropped my fake accent. "What I said before... It's an expression."

Sebastian does not respond and suddenly, the quiet that was between us is back again. Usually, I would be okay with this, as I'm not a fan with conversing with strangers either. I don't understand why this type of silence is bothering me so much.

Soon we come to a stop and Sebastian stands himself next to a door. "We are here, my Lady."

I walk the few steps up to in front of the door too. I wait a while, expecting him to open the door for me as he's done before. "Are you not going to...?" When he doesn't seem to be making an attempt to move, I decide to just open it myself.

Before I can even slightly push the door open, Sebastian's gloved hand suddenly latches out to grab my arm. I jump slightly at the contact. Lifting my gaze to look at Sebastian's face, I feel myself stepping back a little at how menacing he looks.

It's not his expression that's scary though. In fact - he looks perfectly polite. His eyes are curved in a smile and his lips are slightly tilted upwards too. However, it's just the _way _that he's smiling. It feels too ironic, forced, and for some reason I think that he's well aware of the fact this smile of his is probably the scariest expression I've seen on a human.

"S-Sebas-"

"Ms. Caverly." This slightly surprises me. Is he even allowed to interrupt other people? "As the butler of the Phantomhive I believe that it is my responsibility to give you a proper warning. The young master might have believed your story but I myself am not quite convinced. It would be in your best interest to watch what you say and do around me or the young master." His happy expression turns into a serious one. Sebastian looks down at me, the top of his face shadowed. "_Are we clear on this matter?_"

I nod stiffly, hearing his words but not quite understanding them. All I can register is _how fucking intimidated _I currently feel. He being a few inches taller than me is not helping the situation either. The smile comes back on his face as he continues talking. "Good. Well then, Ms. Caverly." He opens the door like I expected him to earlier. "Please go on in. There is a fresh change of clothes in the drawers."

I open my mouth to speak, but then decide that it's best that I don't. Is Sebastian bipolar or something? Nodding again, I step into the room. "Here, my Lady, please take this candle for light. Have a good night, Ms. Caverly. I do hope you that you won't move around after this."

I almost forgot that the light source in this place doesn't come from a switch on the wall. I take the candle from Sebastian, muttering a thank you. He leaves, and the door closes behind. him. I hear his footsteps walk away, I take the time to think about exactly what just happened and also to inspect the room. It's not as nice as the room I was previously in, sure, but it's still pretty big. A giant bed sits in the center, and beside it is a wooden end table. I walk over and place the candle that Sebastian gave me on it.

Like Sebastian said, there is a pretty nice dresser on the other end of the room, next to a full body mirror. Going through the dresser, I frown at the choices presented to me. The piece of clothing I believe to be sleepwear is a long, plain dress, covering my arms and legs. I'm not used to wearing something that covers so much skin to sleep. Nonetheless, what I'm wearing now is too dirty to wear to bed.

The bed is not only big but extremely comfortable. As soon as I sit down on it, the mattress sinks easily under my weight. It's decorated with a lot of pillows, which I'm fond of, because I can arrange them in a fort-like shape around me.

Finally lying down, I can take the time to think back to what Sebastian said to me. He sure was threatening. _God, _I squeeze the pillow next to me, _how can someone that cute be that scary. _I shake my head. Why did I even let him bully me so easily? I'm usually stronger than this.

"Ms. Caverly. As the butler of the Phantomhive I - _blegh_." I mimic his voice, putting on the most fake English accent I can do and making his voice sound like a snotty woman's. I let out a huge sigh, flipping around on the bed.

Suddenly, I freeze as a thought passes through me. How in the world did Sebastian know what my last name was? I scan through what happened earlier today. I only introduced my last name to Ciel when Sebastian was out of the room. Not to mention, Ciel only called me Valentina when Sebastian was with us.

Still, Sebastian didn't address me by my last name until he was threatening me, or welcoming me to my room.

I freeze again.

I was wondering what Sebastian meant when he said _"I do hope that you don't move around after this." _The sly smile on his face when he said it made it look like he had an inside joke that he was not sharing with me. Now I think I understand.

He said the phrase after wishing me good night, so I assumed he was telling me that he wishes I don't move around a lot in my sleep. I'm sure that's what he wanted me to hear, but it wasn't what he meant at all.

The two phrases don't relate to each other.

_I do hope that you don't move around after this. _

He hopes that I don't move _at all._ Like a corpse.

I stuff my face into a pillow, muting a loud groan of frustration.

Sebastian basically told me he wishes that I were dead.

The butler of the house that I am staying at wishes that I were dead.

_Great job, Valentina._

**yayyy my first seb/oc scene along with sebastian being weirdly bipolar :P dont worry not all of them will have them be this cruel and mean and weird. i mean, it is sebastian so the whole romantic build up between the two is probably going to be slow simply because he's a class-a asshole**

**uhmmmm yeah i said i wouldnt have a lot to type this time around. just i think one to two more introductory chapters and then imma start the first arc so _yayyy _im really excited_  
><em>**

**okay that's it ^-^**

**review if you want to. it will make me happy.**

**adios~~~~~~~~**


	5. The Clumsy Servants

Great job, Valentina.

"Is she still asleep?"

"Shh, Finny! You'll wake her!

"O-oh no! I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to!"

"You're still so loud!"

"Shut it, you two. I'm sure you guys already woke her up with your arguing."

That statement's not false. I've been listening to these two strangers arguing for quite a few minutes now. My sleepiness caused me to not pay them much attention, and try to continue sleeping.

"O-oh no! Did we really?" The more feminine voice of the two cries. Her tone sounds pitched and sandy.

Heaving a huge breath, I decide that there's no way I'm going to get any sleep with the noises in the background. I force myself to open my eyes, only to jump a little when I come face to face with two people looking down right at me.

The one on my left's cheeks turn red upon seeing me. She has maroon hair, with a cute little maid hat sitting on top of it. She's also sporting a long maid's outfit with overdone frills at both the neck and wrist. I frown when I see her glasses, though. They're round and weird looking, covering up both of her eyes. Certainly not flattering.

"Oh dear we really did wake you up I'm so sorry miss we really didn't mean to it was an honest mistake!" My eyes widen slightly at how much she's blabbering at once. I don't think she took a breath once in that entire sentence.

I slide my gaze to my right to see what looks like a younger boy with orangish-blonde hair with a few red pins in them. As soon as my eyes meet his green one, his cheeks tint with colour too. Before I know what's happening, he's bending at the waist, repeatedly bowing to me. "I'm so sorry Miss, we really didn't mean to be a nuisance!"

Sitting up in the bed, I let out a nervous laugh at the two people in front of me. I don't think I've ever met such apologetic people in my life. They look to be servants of this house so I'm not too worried about them being dangerous. However, they are still strangers to me. Ah, well, there goes my belief that Sebastian is the only servant that Ciel has.

"Will you two cut it out?" A rough voice suddenly says. I turn my head in surprise to see a gruff looking man with messy dirty blonde hair walking over. He has a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and as soon as I catch a whiff of the scent, I let out an uncomfortable breath. I haven't seen someone smoke a cigar inside for years. "You're obviously making the lady uncomfortable."

I watch him as he walks over to the foot of my bed. As soon as his gaze lands on me, a small smirk crawls onto his face. "Hey, you're a pretty little thing, aren't you?"

"Bardroy…" The young boy with orange hair says. He looks so innocent. "That's not a very nice way to address a lady. You should really call her pretty instead."

"I, uh…" I let out another nervous laugh. "Thank you, I guess."

"Oh, dear!" Our attentions snap to the maroon-haired maid. She's moved to the far back of the room now, her cheeks still tinted with embarrassment. "M-miss Valentina? Did you wear that to bed?"

"Hm?" I knit my eyebrows, looking down at the dress that I'm wearing. I found it in the dressers that Sebastian told me to look. It shouldn't be inappropriate. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Don't mind her." The dirty blonde man who I've now registered as Bardroy says. He crosses his arms over his white shirt that kind of looks like a chef's outfit. "She's just being Mey-Rin."

"Mey-Rin?" I echo, mentally documenting the woman's name down. I smile at her, trying to calm down her nerves a bit. "It's a pretty name."

Mey-Rin puts her hand over her mouth, and it almost looks like her entire face is turning red now. I look at Bardroy nervously. Did I say anything wrong? Why is she acting like that? All he does is shake his head at me.

"I'm sorry," I say. Might as well get right now to business. "But I don't think I've ever met any of you?"

"Right. Sorry about that." Bardroy says, sighing. He seems to be the only one who's able to answer my question right now as Mey-Rin is over in the corner blushing like crazy, and the other boy seems too nervous to approach me. Bardroy scratches his head as if he's unsure of the situation. "Sebastian sent us here, actually. He told us to treat you extra well."

My eyebrows rise at that. Sebastian told them that? Sebastian, the man who just threatened me yesterday? Maybe he's nicer than I thought. "He did?"

"Yeah." Bardroy crosses his arms again with a casual shrug. "He said to keep an extra eye out for you just in case something goes wrong."

Ohhhhhh.

I almost laughed out loud upon hearing that. Of course that's why he sent extra servants over. It wasn't because he cared for me, or that he was just being a gentleman. He sent them over as security guards, to make sure I won't be able to do anything threatening or even murder someone or something. "He did." I say, my voice a lot more flat.

"Uhm, M-miss…" My attention turns to the orange-haired boy. "A-are you not from around here? Sebastian said that you were."

Around here? How can he tell that - I pause a little when I understand what he meant by that. "No, I am, I am. I just… sometimes fake other accents when I'm nervous. See, it's gone!" I say, gesturing to my voice as the English accent comes back. I mentally scold myself for forgetting so easily.

"Oh." Comes the boy's response. "That's nice to know."

"Yep." I say, trying to keep my attitude happy so they know that I'm not a harmful person. Both Mey-Rin and Bardroy looks to be older than me, sure, but they already seem so nice so far that I want them to think that I'm not a rude person in return. "So, uh, what happens now?"

"Oh, that's right!" Mey-Rin says. I'm glad to see she's not so restrained anymore. "The food! Sebastian's made breakfast for you and he told us to bring it. Finny?"

"O-of course!" Finny – I'm glad I got a name for the orange-haired boy – runs outside the room in a hurry. He returns a second later with a metal car with what I assume is the breakfast that they're supposed to give me.

Unfortunately, it seems that he's too overexcited or nervous, as he accidentally uses too much strength while pushing the cart. I watch in horror as he starts dashing towards me, the items on the cart shaking like crazy.

In an attempt to stop the cart, the few dishes on it continue to drive forwards. Suddenly, they're no longer on a flat surface, and tumbling through air. "Oh, no!" In a panic, Finny darts forward, and he once again lose control of himself and the cart as they both zoom towards me.

I can't even close my eyes at the disaster that's happening. All I seem to be able to do is watch as it unfolds.

Out in the corner of my eye, I suddenly see a dash of black appear. Before I can register what's happening, a slim black back appears in front of me. I soon realise that the back belongs to Sebastian. I watch in amazement as he effortlessly catches all of the falling plates onto the circular tray he's holding. With one hand, he stops both the cart and Finny from crashing into me.

"S-Sebastian!" Finny cries as soon as he sees who he ran into. "I-I'm so sorry!"

Sebastian's perfect posture slouches. I can hear him sigh. "Just how useless can you three be? I merely asked you guys to perform a simple task…"

Both Mey-Rin and Finny bows right at once, their faces filled with regret and guilt. "We're so sorry, Mr. Sebastian!"

I chuckle slightly at Bardroy at the side. He has his arms crossed, rolling his eyes with pride. I think I slightly hear him mutter "…we were doing what you asked," but I'm not quite sure.

Sebastian sighs again and waves his hand in dismissal. "I will take care of the rest with Ms. Caverly. Mey-Rin and Finny."

The two stand to their highest point. "Y-yes!"

"Please go prepare a bath for young master. Tell me when you are finished. And Bardroy,"

"Yes, Sebastian."

"Please go cut the meat I've laid out on the kitchen counter. And I do mean just cut. I do mean just cut."

"Don't need to tell me twice."

"Unfortunately, I do. Now, now." Sebastian waves his hands at that as if to shoo them away. "Get to it."

The three servants say their replies, and promptly rush out of the room. Maybe they rushed out to do their jobs, or maybe they did it because they were afraid of Sebastian. Either one would be understandable.

"You're mean to Bardroy." I note as soon as the servants run out.

Sebastian turns around to look at me. The tray in his hand rests perfectly on his covered fingertips. He sighs once again. "Oh, believe me. I pretty much have to me. Now, Ms. Caverly," Sebastian uses his free hand to uncover a covered plate on the tray. A small cup appears. "Unfortunately, you woke up later than I suspected, so the tea is now cold. Would you like me to prepare you another batch?"

I stare at him. How early did he make breakfast for me? And why does he expect me to be so picky about tea? It certainly is not my favourite drink. "That's okay."

"Are you sure? It won't be a bother."

"I'm sure, Sebastian."

"Alright then. Fortunately," He uncovers the other plate to reveal what I believe to be a sushi tray. "I've prepared for you and the young master a traditional Japanese breakfast. Though the Miso Soup is no longer hot, the fish and salmon sushi is okay to eat cold. Would you like me to reheat the soup?"

Sebastian places the large plate on my lap. My eyes widen at the sight of it. It really does look like it has everything, from the rice, to the sushi and even the design on the plate. I've never eaten breakfast like this before, just sushi by itself. "No, that's okay."

"Would you like to eat here or in the dining room? I can bring the food for you."

"Here would be fine, too." I really am getting top notch service here.

Sebastian bends over to get the bowl of soup off of my plate and places it on the cart next to the tea in the same condition. I stuff a piece of sushi in my mouth, trying not to look too much like a pig when I discover how fantastic it tastes. As he shuffles around with the extra utensils I hear him say, "Ms. Caverly?"

"Hmm?" I look up at him with chipmunk cheeks. Not wanting him to be able to see me in such an unattractive state for a long time, I quickly swallow the food. "Yes?"

"Did you wear that to bed?"

I knit my eyebrows. What is with that? He is the second person next to Mey-Rin who's asked me that today. "Yes, why?"

"You didn't wear the blue one?"

"There was a blue one?"

A hint of a smile dances on Sebastian's lips. "I see. So that's why you didn't pick it."

Sebastian assumes that the only reason I wore this dress was because it was the only option for me? "That may not be the only reason." I say, putting down my pair of chopsticks. "What if I chose this one? What if I like this one?"

"You like that dress?"

"Yes." I nod my head in confirmation while sitting up higher in my spot without knocking my plate over. "I like this dress a lot."

"Well, then, Ms. Caverly." Sebastian finishes organizing the stuff on the cart and turns to look at me. "You should be happy to know that the dress is quite transparent."

It takes a moment for that to process through my head but when it finally does, my eyes widen in horror and I look down. True enough, the dress looks like a thin translucent piece of fabric that very obviously displays some things even I don't want people to see.

That's why Mey-Rin was all panicky earlier. I want to hit myself. How can I be so stupid? How in the world did I not notice?

In a hurry, I use my two arms to cover my chest. My cheeks tint the same colour as Mey-Rin's earlier. "S-stop!"

Sebastian chuckles. "If it's any help, I say you look rather nice in white. Perhaps not this dress in particular, though."

"That is not any help!" I squint at Sebastian's amused smile. "And you totally know it! Stop messing with me, Sebastian!"

"Of course." A sadistic smile creeps onto his face as he turns around. He pushes the cart out with an air of arrogance surrounding him.

I don't understand. Why is Sebastian messing with me like this? Why is he not threatening me like he did last night? I want to do many things - hit him, throw my pillow at him, scream and yell at him from across the room. However, all I seem to be able to do is glare at his oh so nice butt and back as he exits.

**I just want to say that the servants are sooo much fun to write I dnot think I would love them so much I definitely will include them in more chapters because gosh darn they are cute**

**okay okay next chapter is the nest filler chapter and then DRAMAMMAMAAAAA**

**So yay I got two reviews last chapter which I know isn't a lot to some people but honestly it was really awesome for me and thank giu**

**(hahah hinting at Japanese food because Sebastian loves delving into the Japanese culture. sorry if some of it's not accurate)**

**okay I think that's it if I have more I will post them next chapter ^-^**

**review if you want. It will make me very very happy **

**adios~~~~~~;**


	6. The Worst Snake Charmer in the World

Around the time of the afternoon, I've decided that I was sick of lying around in bed all day. Since no one seemed to be coming for me, I took the liberty of getting out of bed and giving myself a little tour around _Chez Phantomhive. _

It didn't take long for the tour to become boring. I know I was praising every detail of the house before but soon, the entire mansion just became repetitive. Rooms after rooms, halls after halls. I can easily describe the place with three words: big, beautiful, and boring.

As my attention span of a mouse kicks in and starts begging for some form of entertainment, I decide to just start looking for the servants for conversation. They were quite interesting before, I'm sure they won't be much different now.

It takes me quite a while to escape the labyrinth that is the Phantomhive hallways. There's a twist here and a turn there. Every corner looks the same, but takes me somewhere else.

Finally, I find myself at the end of a hall. Stepping into the big room that it leads to I quickly realise that I'm in the dining room. The giant wooden table sits nice and polished in the middle, along with at least fifteen chairs. A chandelier lit by candles hangs above me. The floor is marble and the walls are coloured a nice rich yellow.

I'm just about to take another step into the dining room when I feel something brush against my ankle. It feels warm, smooth, but dry. Before I even have time to react, the same thing moves against my other ankle, too.

I feel myself paling, already imagining the worse. I almost don't want to look down, afraid that I'll see what I think I'll see. Whatever it is that's brushing itself against me wraps itself around both my ankles.

_No, it can't be. _This place is so incredibly proper, no _way _can _those _creatures be living here.

I look down, and find myself suddenly wanting to cry when what I see is a confirmation to my thoughts.

Snakes.

I have snakes slithering against me. There's two right now, wrapping itself around my leg, squeezing tightly then releasing, and then switching sides. I freeze, trying best not to scream as I learned that I don't want to alarm it into attacking me.

Or was that bears? Either way, I don't exactly have the right mindset to think right now.

I _hate _snakes. In fact, I hate most weird creatures: snakes, spiders, bugs, anything. This is ironic as London loves the outdoors and always enjoys bringing bugs home.

One of the snakes decides that it's boring around my ankles and starts slithering itself up my legs. It wraps around my calves, thighs, and then hips. I gulp loudly when it connects itself around one of my arms.

Scared, and wanting the slithery snake as far away from me as possible, I lift my arm away from my body. The snake's body wraps around my arm as it starts moving slower than before.

I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head away from the disaster on my arm. A tiny squeal of discomfort goes out of me. How do I get myself out of this situation?

I think back to when London would bring snakes home. How did she handle them? I don't remember. I usually was cowering in my bedroom.

Suddenly I feel a presence next to me. I don't really know what happened, but the snake is ripped away from my arm, the scaly parts quickly rubbing against my skin. The snake around my ankle retreats itself, too, as it's no longer around me.

I open my eyes cautiously, first looking around to see if the snakes are anywhere in sight, and then turning to look at my savior. My heart sinks a little in despair when I see that it's no other than the butler dressed in black.

He is standing at his full height, his gloved hand squeezing the snake as he holds it out in front of him. "Snake," Sebastian says. "_Please _refrain your snakes from terrorizing our guests."

I'm surprised to see that there's actually a person looming in a darker corner of the room. I didn't notice him before, but I think I can properly blame that on the fact that I was just attacked by snakes. The person steps out of the shadows slowly just as Sebastian releases the snake that he's holding. The creature hisses at Sebastian and races to the stranger, wrapping itself around his body.

In _fact - _my eyes widen, the man has _numerous _snakes around him, all sliding up and down him as he stands. The image completely grosses me out and makes me want to puke.

The snake man isn't unattractive. He's skinny, average height, with golden coloured eyes. He has a pointed chin and white flat hair with a cowlick sticking out from it. What seems to be odd about him, though, is his skin. There are patches of different scales on them. Are those... snake scales?

"That hurts." The man's voice comes out low and rough - nothing like how I imagined him to sound like. "Says Wordsworth." When he says that, his voice becomes a calmer, huskier tone.

One of the snakes he has slithers right next to his ear. It hisses at him and he turns to me. "You smell nice." His tone is higher now. He sounds like a female. "Says Emily."

Is he... talking for his snakes? He must be crazy. Nonetheless, I shudder a little, the thought of snakes crawling over me and smelling me making me feel extremely uncomfortable. Subconsciously, I find myself stepping backwards and closer to Sebastian.

"T-thank you."

The man takes a couple of steps towards me. He soon becomes close enough that one of the snakes can detach a bit of itself off of him and stick its face right in front of me. My eyes widen as I take a step back. I don't realise how close I've gotten to Sebastian until I feel his two hands grab the side of my arms and I feel him behind me.

"Is this a new guest of Smile's?" His voice is now a bit more masculine, but a little pitched. "Asks Goethe."

"Snake," Sebastian says. I realise that he's addressing the man in front of me. He's named Snake? He's a person named Snake who has skin of a snake and plays with snakes? "The servants are all getting the place ready for tomorrow. Perhaps you should too." The sentence comes out more like a statement than a question.

Snake doesn't acknowledge Sebastian at first. "_Snake_."

Finally, Snake lifts his head to meet Sebastian's gaze. His snakes retreat from right in front of my face and back onto his body. "We will go help. Says Oscar."

"Thank you." Sebastian's voice comes out sickly sweet. It's not until Snake has completely left the room that he I hear him sigh behind me. He releases my arms from his grasp. "It's been less than a day and I've already had to save you twice."

I turn around, ready to respond to him when I see him already starting to walk away from me. "Hey! Wait up!" Sebastian slows down, but doesn't stop walking completely. I reach his side, and find myself trying to keep up with his big steps. "It's not my fault that I'm afraid of snakes."

"Afraid of snakes?"

"Yeah," I reply, nodding my head. "Any creature, really. Snakes, spiders, grasshoppers, centipedes." I find myself shuddering at the thought. _Gross. _

To my surprise, I hear a small masculine chuckle from the butler beside me. Looking over, it shocks me to see him giggling a little to himself, his gloved hand covering his mouth. "What?"

"Please excuse me, Ms. Caverly." Sebastian says. He coughs a little into his hand. "It's just that your fears are quite... childish."

"Childish?" I echo, an offended look growing on my face. "I'll have you know that my fears are perfectly rational of someone of my age."

"Of course, forgive me." Sebastian closes his eyes and nods his head gracefully in my direction. However, the smug little smile still has not left his face yet. "Ms. Caverly, I notice that you changed out of the white dress."

The new change in topic confuses me. I look down at what I'm wearing. Of course I would change. That was my pajamas. I'm well aware that walking around in a manor in just my pjs is quite inappropriate. Not to mention the little episode that happened - my cheeks flush, immediately reacting to my memory. The words that I'm about to say becomes stuck in my throat. "O-of course! It would be inappropriate not to."

"You did not like the Phantomhive dress, Miss?"

I glare at him. "No."

"Would you mind explaining to me why? Any little suggestion is helpful in improving the service of the house."

My jaw drops. The nerve of this guy - playing off my embarrassments. "Don't tease me!"

"Sebastian! Oh, Sebastian!"

Both our attentions turn at the sound of the panicked voice. A figure dressed in a maid's outfit comes dashing towards Sebastian and me quickly. Mey-Rin stops in front of us, her breathing harsh from her intense exercise. When she sees me, her cheeks redden.

"M-ms. Caverly! How are you feeling?"

"Good." I reply, a grin lighting my face from how silly she looks. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm totally fine, as well! Although I did screw up on - oh, that's right! Sebastian!"

The man in question tilts his head and knits his eyebrows. He looks like such an adorable human being when he's confused. "What is it now?"

"Oh, Sebastian I'm so sorry!" Mey-Rin presses her hands to her cheeks. Though I can't really see her eyes through the thick fogged lenses, her upturned eyebrows tell me that she's worried. "But I can't find it. I can't find the young master's coat!"

"The one he's supposed to wear tomorrow?"

"Yes. Oh, I'm so sorry, Sebastian!"

Sebastian sighs, shaking his head and closing his eyes. I notice that this seems to be a common expression for him. "Well, worrying about it won't help us find it. We might as well start looking for the coat now."

"Thank you, Sebastian! Oh, thank you!"

A forced smile slowly creeps onto the butler's face. "Well, we should refrain from looking where you've already searched. What places did you already look in?"

"All of them!" Mey-Rin shakes her dramatically. "I can't find it _anywhere_!"

Another sigh. "Well, I guess this means we won't need to search the laundry room, then, because you've already been there." Sebastian lifts his gaze to loom at Mey-Rin challengingly. "Am I correct?"

"You're righ - oh, no! Oh, I forgot to search there! " Mey-Rin suddenly covers her mouth with both her hands. Her back turns ridged as she takes a cautious step back from Sebastian. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry Sebastian!"

"How did you possibly forget?"

"I'm so sorry! I thought I looked everywhere, I swear! I didn't mean to waste time."

The fake smile on Sebastian's face is now back and bigger than ever. "Well that was quite an idiotic move for you to make. Oh, pardon me." He takes a step closer to the poor girl who obviously feels intimidated by him. "I meant that it was moronic."

"Se-" Mey-Rin takes a small step back from Sebastian. "Sebas-" Another step to distance herself. In a blink of an eye, Mey-Rin turns around, running as fast as she can away from the butler. "I'm sorry Sebastian I'll find it right away!"

Sebastian and I both stare at the retreating form of the clumsy maid as she escapes. I feel complete sympathy for her. Sebastian's a scary guy, and from how she's been acting around him, I'm getting the feeling that the maid of this house is infatuated with the butler.

I smile slightly. A maid and a butler living under the same roof. I've read enough fanfiction to know _exactly _how a situation like that might turn out.

"What am I going to do with them?"

I'm sure that he's referring to the servants. I can think of a reply, but there's a question I've been waiting to ask as soon as Mey-Rin brought up the subject of the coat. "Is there something going on tomorrow?"

"Pardon?"

"You told Snake that the servants were getting ready for tomorrow. Mey-Rin seemed way too distressed for someone who merely lost a _jacket. _Mind you that if there was something going on tomorrow, it would make a lot more sense to why she was so worried."

"My, my, Ms. Caverly." Sebastian says, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I notice that he's started slowly walking again and I rush a little to stand next to him. "It seems that you have been blessed with extraordinary observation skills."

I roll my eyes, blowing out a small air of frustration. "Do you always have to be so snide with me? Is there anything going on tomorrow?"

"There is. It's the birthday of the young master's fiancée."

"Fiancée?" My eyes widen at the news. "You said that he's twelve."

"He is." Sebastian looks at me like he doesn't completely understand what I'm saying. "Their marriage has been planned from since they were young."

From since they were young? Dear God, they're still pretty young. "But it's -"

_The Victorian ages. _I stop myself, suddenly remembering where and _when _I was. "Of course. Sorry. I must be tired."

Sebastian doesn't reply. It once again becomes a little game of me following him around the manor. We turn a corner, and we start walking through a smaller hall. This one's not as decorated as the rest, as the walls are a mere plain beige colour and it's not as wide.

"Ms. Caverly." I turn my attention to him. "I have a few preparations to complete in the kitchen. It is usually not recommended that guests enter this room."

"Why not?"

"It's simply not proper." I understand what he means. You go to a movie theatre to watch the full finished movie. Seeing a behind the scenes half way through would ruin the illusion that the movie is real.

Nonetheless, I could care less about a manor in the 19th century that's run by the scariest man I've met _ever. _"Sebastian, what else would I do inside this place? I don't mind seeing the room."

"Well, if that's what the lady insists then I don't have much I can say against that." I snort at how easily persuaded he is. Like he actually gave a damn what _I _personally thought.

The kitchen isn't even all that bad. It's roomy, and as soon as I walk in, I smell a delightful aroma of chicken. The counters are a bit messy with what I believe to be flour, but besides that, the kitchen looks just as perfect as any other part of the manor.

"I thought it'd be a lot messier than this. Ciel's parents sure did find him a good butler."

"Your words are too kind. I'm simply one hellof a butler."

The way he says that sentence causes me to look at him curiously. He said it like an inside joke. As if completely praising his own self isn't arrogant enough, he had a little inside joke for doing it. Sebastian begins to start his work around the kitchen. I watch in fascination as he moves. He first put on a white apron, which, for some reason, looks so attractive on him. He's so familiar with his surroundings, every moment planned out so perfectly, it's almost like a practiced dance.

"Where's Ciel's parents anyways?" I say in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

Sebastian glances up from the soup that he's making for a second. "It would be wise to not bring up this topic around the young master." Ah, so the topic is a touchy subject. And I believe that Sebastian just told me to shut up about in the nicest way possible.

I won't talk about his parents, then. "No siblings either?"

Sebastian pulls out a package of tea leaves from a cupboard and lifts a pot of water over the stove. "The young master is an only child."

"Oh," I reply, my face dropping a little. That's quite sad. I grew up with a family of six, so every day was loud and cheerful. I can't imagine how it must be like to live in a place this big just by yourself.

"It is different for you?"

I shrug. Sebastian now takes out a bag of flour and pours a bunch of it on the island counter. "Yeah. I mean, I grew up with three sisters and both my parents and all of them mean the world to me. In fact, the only reason that I'm here is because of -" my words die in my throat. Oh, my god. I completely forgot about "Victoria."

The sudden quietness of my voice catches his attention. "Victoria?"

"Oh, my god." I heard Sebastian's question, but all my brain is processing are my thoughts. I place my elbows on the counter as I rub my head in disbelief. "Oh, my god how can I have possibly forgotten about her?"

"Ms. Caverly, are you -"

"She could be dead. She could be dead and it could be my entire fault." I feel so incredibly stupid. She should've been the first person I searched for when I woke up. Instead, what did I do? Find myself a nice little place to rest while she's out there _alone._ My best hope is that she's no longer sick, and that she's found a house like me.

"_Ms. Caverly._" My attention snaps to him momentarily at the raise in volume of his voice. "If something is wrong then blabbering on about it will not fix the problem."

"Of course. _Of course." _I run a hand through my hair. Should I even be spilling out information about my family to him? "My sister - _Victoria,_ she - the last time I saw her was before I woke up here. I was helping her run away from this person that was trying to kill her."

"Hm." Sebastian's hands stop working on the dough that he created. Although I'm worried about my sister, I notice that he's quite efficient in his work. His face turns into one of concentration. "Are you implying that she was kidnapped, too?"

I let out an ironic chuckle at that. _Right. _My kidnapping lie. "Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"You say she almost died?"

"Yeah. But I-I-I helped her escape at the last second." I take a deep breath, trying to stop myself from crying on front of Sebastian. When I speak, my voice shakes. "God, how did I forget about her?"

Sebastian rests his chin on top of his fist. "A kidnapper who has kidnapped more than one person, and has attempted to kill an unknown amount. If this information is true," he tilts his head and looks at me. "Then perhaps you should tell the young master. I believe he will be _quite _interested."

**so this was long and not updated in time because the idea for this took longer to write than i thought and i couldn't find a good time to split it so yeah:P**

**uhmm i dont know how i feel about this chapter because i feel like the dialogue is kinda awkward at some - all - of the time and i think theyre ooc and it's really dissatisfying to me. perhaps its cause its late but i will check on this chapter again later to give it a proper edit**

**oh and mey rin is always fun to write and snake's character pleases me in ways**

**oh and i got two reviews last chapter which made my heart so very happy :D to the person who asked about her sister, here is a bit of it. it was planned anyways so yeah ^_^**

**review if you want. it will make me very happy.**

**adios~~~~~**


	7. Ciel's Extremely Cute Fiancée

Ciel's fiancée doesn't come on time for her birthday party. No, in fact, she comes 10 hours earlier. Ciel and I are eating breakfast when it happens. I'm at the end of the long table, as it was a tradition for guests to sit here.

I don't like it, though, as there is way too much space between Ciel and I, and it feels more awkward than anything else. Nonetheless, I don't' complain, understanding that it's just how things are done at this time.

Ciel's fiancée bursts through the door to the dining room, her little blob of blonde head running across the room so fast that it looks like a blur to me. I notice Mey-Rin and Finny quickly following after, an exasperated looks on their face.

"Miss Elizabeth! Please slow down –"

"_Ciiiieeeellll!" _Elizabeth, dressed in a puffy red dress with expensive frills along with having her hair nice and curled and in pigtails, grabs both of Ciel's hands into hers. "Oh, I'm just _so excited _about today! I hardly got a wink of sleep last night."

"E-Elizabeth!" Ciel states, his face turning into one of slight discomfort and shock. It's obvious that he's trying to stay polite, though. "W-what are you doing here? I told you to come two hours before the party."

Elizabeth giggles slightly. She swings both her and Ciel's arms. "I know. I just got so excited I told Paula that I wanted to get down here _right away!_"

"W-well…" I can practically see a bead of sweat drop from Ciel's forward from how awkward this situation is. "There really is nothing you can do while you're here…"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Out of the blue, Elizabeth pulls Ciel into a bear hug. As he's the one facing me in the hug, I see his eyes widen a little bit. "As long as I'm with you, we'll have a great time together."

Upon hearing those words, an embarrassed blush colours Ciel's cheeks "D-don't say nonsensical things like that." He then sighs, closing his eyes. His next few words come out softer than usual. "Happy birthday, Lizzy."

"I must have been a really good fiancé to get a birthday party from you."

"W-what!" Ciel pulls away from Elizabeth's hug. He crosses his arms and with his eyes closed says, "Please. I'm not as shallow as that."

The blonde just giggles in response. She opens her arms to give Ciel another hug, spinning around with him in joy. When she's facing me, her eyes catch sight of me and she suddenly stops. "Who's this?"

"Hm?" Ciel struggles to look back with Elizabeth's death grip around him. "Oh, right. Elizabeth, this is Valentina, a guest who will be staying here."

Elizabeth releases Ciel. He breathes a sigh of relief as Sebastian immediately rushes to his side, fixing the wrinkles that were caused by the hug. Elizabeth approaches me cautiously, her eyes assessing me as she walks. From how she's moving, I thought that she might react negatively to me. It becomes a surprise when a huge grin lights up the girl's face. "Oh, that's so pretty! Valentina is just the _cutest _name ever!"

Automatically, I bow at the higher authority, surprising even myself. How did I remember these traditions so quickly? "Thank you. Elizabeth is a very pretty name, too."

"Oh, please." Elizabeth grabs both of my hands in hers. Her eyes shine with innocence. "Just call me Lizzy."

I chuckle. "Okay, then. Lizzy it is."

"Thank you!" Lizzy takes a step forward towards me, her big eyes becoming even bigger in excitement. "It took me so long to get Ciel to call me that. It's so much easier with you."

"That's because it's too childish. Besides, nicknames are for little kids."

I raise an eyebrow. _Which you are, _I want to say. But I don't.

Lizzy releases my hands and turns to argue with Ciel. "Oh, but it's just so much cuter! Elizabeth is hardly cute at all!"

"And I do call you Lizzy, don't I?"

"Yes, but it shouldn't be like a chore for you!"

Ciel rolls his eyes, but doesn't reply to what she said. "Since you're here you might as well try on the dress I've ordered for you."

"I'd love to!"

Ciel seems to suddenly remember that he's standing and takes a seat at the end of the table again. "Nina was busy around the time I ordered the dress, so I found another seamstress. She was originally going to be here at 4, the same time as you." He sighs heavily. "Sebastian."

"Yes?"

"Give Abigail a call. Tell her to come earlier than planned."

Sebastian bows. "Yes, my Lord."

Ciel wrinkles his nose slightly at Sebastian's retreating form.

.~~~

Abigail is a shy little woman. She looks to be in her mid-30s or so, with strawberry blonde hair tied up in a bun on her head. Her dress is a rich blue colour, really beautiful. She probably made it herself.

She pauses before she says each sentence, as if she's running the idea of saying it a few times through her head before she dares to say it in front of Ciel. When Sebastian opens the door for her, she doesn't bother to regard him. Instead, she ducks her head timidly and runs past him.

Ciel, Sebastian, and I are sitting in the dressing room of the manor. Surrounding us are all different racks full of clothes of different colour, size, and shape.

"Abigail." Ciel says. "Nice to see you again."

The shy woman bows awkwardly. "Y-you too."

"You have the dresses?"

Abigail nods as she opens the big bag that she brought with her. I give Ciel a confused look. "Dresses?"

"Yes," Sebastian responds for Ciel. I look up at his tall form behind Ciel's armchair. "I contacted Abigail two days ago to ask her to create another dress for you at the last second."

"Oh really?" My eyes widen at butler. That's so nice of them to do. "You really didn't have to."

"Don't be ridiculous." Sebastian responds with a smile. He slightly tilts his head, his black hair swishing a bit, too. "You're now under the care of a distinguished noble family. We would never allow a peasant lookalike to be running around at a party."

Well, that was a straight out insult. And for him to say it with such a straightforward smile, too…

"E-Earl Phantomhive…"

All of our attentions turn to the stuttering woman in the corner. When she realises that all four of our eyes are on her, she cowers a bit into her shell. "I-I'm sorry. When I received the call for the dress, I w-wasn't told the exact measurements of the girl… so I just made her dress with the same size as Miss Elizabeth…"

Abigail pulls out two dresses from her bag. Both are beautiful, really. One is green, with a cute bow resting on top of one of the breasts. The sleeves are long, obviously, with the top of it decorated in a nice lacy texture and the bottom extending down in a long, loose fashion. The body is embroidered with small, but expensive looking jewels. The rest of the skirt falls loosely underneath.

The other one, a pink dress, is a lot simpler looking, but still beautiful. The sleeves are shorter for one, ending in a white frill. The body and skirt is plainly but nicely decorated with fringes.

The problem though, just like Abigail said, both look to be the perfect size for Elizabeth, but I would probably only get one arm into the dress before being stuck. I look to Ciel and Sebastian right before they compose themselves out of their shocked expressions. "That's impossible." Ciel says. "It's Sebastian. He would never forget something as simple as the measurements for the dress."

"That's right." Sebastian chimes in, his voice laced with concern. "I'm sure that I told you Ms. Caverly's exact measurements."

_Exact measurements? _I knit my eyebrows. Nevermind the small dress, how in the _world _did Sebastian get my exact measurements?

"O-oh! Then I'm so sorry!" Abgail bends at the waist briskly. "I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention! Maybe I can alter the dress a bit and try to make it bigger… that might take a while, though."

"No, it's okay." I wave my hand back and forth, forcing a smile onto my face. "A dress for me isn't really the most important thing right now. Besides," I gesture to the piles and piles of clothes all around us. "I'm sure I can find something my size in this mess. Don't need to be so scared."

I can hear Abigail release a sigh of relief, but she still has her head down. Ciel moves so the hand resting on the armchair is supporting his head. "Certainly not anything that we can fix now. Lizzy, what do you think of the dresses?"

Lizzy's eyes shine with admiration as she stares at them. She lifts her hands to her chin, a grin growing on her face. "Oh, they're both _so cute!_"

"T-Thank you." Abigail finally lifts up her head. She holds up the green dress. "This one is the one you're wearing tonight."

"What?" Lizzy's joyful expression escapes just like that. She hops off the couch that she's sitting on. "But I want the pink one! It's _much _cuter!"

Lizzy's outbreak shocks Abigail. Her jaw drops a tiny bit. "Y-yes, but this is the one I made for you specifically…"

"Green is so not as cute as pink!"

"Lizzy." Ciel suddenly says. "Please don't whine like that. Abigail worked hard to make the dress for you."

"I…" The blonde girl pauses when she sees the semi-annoyed expression Ciel is sporting. "I just –" Oh, no, is she going to cry? "I just wanted to look cute for Ciel during the party that he went through the trouble of hosting for me…"

Ciel takes one look of Lizzy's puppy dog face and cracked. To be honest, I would, too. Lizzy's face is one that looks adorable when she's happy, but incredibly heartbreaking when she's pouting, too. He closes his eyes and sighs. "Wear the dress if you want. It's your birthday. You should be able to do whatever you want."

Elizabeth's face lights up. She jumps towards Ciel and throws her arms around him. "Thank you so much! You'll see. I'll look so incredibly cute!" She detaches herself and turns towards Abigail, who has a look of disbelief on her face. "I must try on the dress right now!"

"M-miss Elizabeth!" Abigail moves the dress so it's out of Lizzy's grasp when she jumped to get it. "Perhaps I should make some arrangements to the dress so it fits you better."

"Why?" I say in place of Lizzy, who, honestly, looks incredibly defeated by the denial of the dress she wants. "You said that you made the dress in the measurements of Lizzy. I think it'll fit her perfectly."

"Yes, but –"

"I'll try it on right now!" Lizzy grins, jumping up and grabbing the dress from the distracted seamstress. Abigail stumbles a little at the sudden contact. Her eyebrows knit in concern as she watches Elizabeth run out of the room. Her little red and blonde form dashes across the hallway as the door close behind her.

"Well, then." A deep velvety voice chimes when Elizabeth is out of the room. "I suppose the green dress is yours then, Ms. Caverly."

"Please." I roll my eyes at Sebastian's teasing. "You know I don't fit in that."

"You can keep it in your guest closet for the time being. The young master did spend money to order a dress for you, after all."

I run the thought through my head. Yeah, it's true. Ciel did go through the effort of asking someone to design a whole new dress for me. The least I can do is keep it. "All right." I say, getting up from my chair and walking to Abigail.

The seamstress retracts a little. "N-no, miss, you probably shouldn – "

"What are you worried about?" I smile. "It's not like I can fit in it, anyways. I'm just keeping it to show my gratitude."

"But –"

"There's really no problem." I, too, like Lizzy, grab the other dress from Abigail's grasp. "I'll put this in my closet. Afterwards, Ciel, do you mind if I search around here for a dress that fits me?"

"No."

I smile. "Perfect. And maybe, you know, Sebastian can help."

Ciel's bored expression is back. "Do what you want."

"Okay, then!" I grin in excitement. Mostly because I know that helping me pick out a dress is probably the _last _thing that Sebastian wants to do, and I'll be forcing him to do it. "So, Sebastian, do you think I would look better in yellow, or blue?"

**so schools been kinda stoopping me from the whole 'updating every day thing' but i am _so determined _to update this at least once every two days its crazy**

**:p btw can we talk about the ending of book of circus? ahh ciel's laughter along with his 'i am human, sebastian!' breaks my heart and to see the anime another arc finished, too, breaks my heart. i dont know how im going to deal when the manga finishes **

**anyways, review if you want to. it will make me happy.**

**adios~~~~**


	8. The Chinese Man (and his sister?)

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

_Bang!_

_"Ahh!_ H-hello, Mr. Lau do you have an invitation from the young mas – wait! You can't just come in here!"

"Finny, what's wron – oh no, oh no! I'm sorry Mr. Lau but the young master is quite busy at this time and will not accept any visitors!"

Ciel's jaw drops as he chokes back a sound of disbelief. He makes eye contact with Sebastian, who's giving Ciel the same look in return. "Wha – what is _he_ doing here?!"

_Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._

"What room is the young Lord in anyways?" The voice of the stranger sounds quite smooth and soft.

"P-please sir! I really can't allow you to disturb him at this moment."

_Bang_! "It appears that this room is empty…"

"Can't these servants do _anything_ right?"

I draw my attention to Ciel instead of the ruckus happening on the other side of the door. "Ciel? What's going on? Is this man someone you know?"

"It's no one of importance." Ciel says with an annoyed look. He crosses one leg over the other. "Just a mere acquaintance of mine."

The door to the sitting room that the Ciel, Sebastian and I are in gets swung open. In the center stands an Asian man walks in with straight, black hair covering the top half of his long face and a traditional Chinese looking robe. It's long, blue, and falls all the way to cover his feet.

To my surprise, a female is also clinging onto his arm. She's Asian too, with big hazel eyes and short, thick black hair with squared bangs. She has braids falling from her hair and a pink rose is placed as an accessory. Her breasts are also quite noticeable, overly large and quite accentuated.

"Acquaintance?" The Asian man speaks, and I can slightly hear an accent in his tone. "Well I'm hurt my Lord, even after everything we've been through."

The vein on Ciel's head practically pops. "We've been through _nothing_ together!" He sighs, collecting his annoyance and sitting back into his chair. "Anyways, what is it that you could possibly want at this time?"

The man guides both him and the girl clinging onto him – his girlfriend, maybe? – onto the loveseat in front of Ciel. I don't think he's noticed me or Sebastian in the room yet. "Why, what other reason than for Lady Elizabeth's birthday? I believe you need to get better delivery services, my Lord, as my invitation to this event seems to have never arrived."

"My delivery services are _fine_. You are just not invited."

The man frowns, tilting his head to look to Ciel curiously. "Ah, so emotionless, my Lord. Does this mean you care for me above others?"

Ciel sighs, putting his head in his hand. "Just make sure you leave before the party starts, Lau."

"Can I not stay?"

_"Well of course not! What would give you that idea?!"_

Lau shakes his head, a hint of a smile playing onto his lips. I notice that he absentmindedly starts stroking the hair of the girl beside him. "The Lord is so cold to me. Is this any way for you to treat a guest? I travelled all the way over here to attend."

"I-!" Ciel starts but then promptly shutting his mouth. He runs what Lau said through his head, reluctantly understanding that being rude is not the option to take. With a grumpy expression, he concedes. "Fine, you can stay."

"I'm thankf –"

"It's Elizabeth's _birthday_, understand?" Ciel interrupts, barely bothering to listen to what Lau says. "That means I want _no_ funny business. Nothing from you to ruin tonight."

"Why I would never." Even though I've just met the man, I can feel the irony dripping from his tone. "Besides, I couldn't even if I wanted to. I'm sure your butler would stop me before I could do anything."

The challenging tone in Lau's voice is not lost on Sebastian. The latter closes his eyes in a smile. "But of course. That is the job of a Phantomhive butler after all."

"And I would expect no less." A pause in the air before he continues. "By the way," Lau suddenly turns to face me, the tense atmosphere that once surrounded him gone. "Who is this?"

"Valentina Caverly." Sebastian says before I can even open my mouth. I do an awkward bow in my seat. "She is a current guest at the Phantomhive estate."

"Ah, I see…" a foolish grin spreads across his face as he puts his two hands together so the sleeves of his clothes are touching. "So when do I get to use her?"

I recoil in my seat a little at his choice of words. "_Use?!"_

"Yes." He scans the three of us, a surprised look on Sebastian and Ciel's face, and me, frankly I'm more disgusted than anything. "Oh, my Lord, you mean to say that she's not a hired –"

"No!" I say, my voice rising in both pitch and volume. "Ciel's twelve! You're a sick freak. You're a sick, _sick_, freak."

"Now, now. No need to be mad. It was an honest mistake."

_"Honest mistake_?! What, did you think he was just going to _buy_ one off the street? He's a little kid!"

"The Earl doesn't act like a little kid. Besides," Lau very obviously this time makes a gesture to pet the girl beside him. "I've done things when I was twelve."

My eyes widen at his innuendo. With cautious fingers, I point to the girl. "H-her?"

"Oh, no." He shakes his head. "This is Ran-Mao. I would never. She's my sister." His sister? They're awfully… close to be siblings. When Lau sees my reaction to his statement, he laughs a little. "We're not related by blood."

That seems to be only normal thing I heard from his mouth in the past thirty seconds or so. I collapse in my seat, shaking my head in disbelief. "Y-you're crazy."

"It might not just be for the Earl." Lau shrugs nonchalantly. "It may also be for his butler."

_"Pardon you_!"

"You think I'd just hire a prostitute?" My eyes land on the poor little boy sitting across from me, who looks just as disgusted as me, if not more. It surprises me in how blatant he is. "Sebastian –" He looks up at his butler, who, to my surprise has turned away from the rest of us. His shoulders are slightly shaking as he stands. I narrow my eyes. Is he… laughing?

Sebastian turns around, his humour-filled red eyes landing on me and then to Ciel. His hand is covering his mouth. He coughs a bit into his glove and removes his hand, a smile still on his face. "My apologies, young master."

"Like I said, Earl. It was an honest mistake." Lau says.

"Maybe you should run your thoughts through your head before you speak them! Honestly."

Just as Lau is about to reply, Sebastian cuts in, efficiently ending the previous conversation by changing the subject. Silently, I thank him for doing so. "Perhaps we should start searching for Ms. Caverly's dress."

Oh, that's right. I've attempted to search for the dress with Sebastian, but an hour in I got bored and decided to just hang out with Ciel instead. Now, it's a bit closer to the party so perhaps I should start searching more seriously.

"He did suggest that the prostitute is for y –"

"Young master," Sebastian's eyes dart down to Ciel. "The party is starting in no less than four hours. Should we not be focusing on a more important matter right now?"

Sebastian and Ciel engage into a stare off for a few seconds before Ciel turns his head away. He goes back to his usual pose, with his one hand supporting his head in a bored fashion. "Whatever. Go ahead."

"Valentina does not have a dress for the party?"

My eyes dart to the Chinese man who asked the question. I shake my head. "No. Not yet at least."

A grin spreads onto his face. "Perhaps you would like one of Ran-Mao's then."

.~~~

Two hours before the party started, Elizabeth dashes into my room, her big eyes filled with fear. "Valentina! Valentina!"

I'm lying on my bed, carelessly just fidgeting around with my fingers. It's so boring here. There's no electronics, books that I like to read, or any music of my taste. Upon hearing Elizabeth's panic-filled tone I sit up to see her bobbing blonde head running towards me. "What is it?"

Elizabeth's hair, along with her clothes looks a bit wrinkly. It definitely doesn't look like the posh, flawless Lizzy I saw this morning. Elizabeth stops in front of me, her height a bit taller than me because I'm sitting down. "After trying on the dress, I was so tired I took a nap. But when I woke up, the dress was gone!"

"Gone?" My eyes widen in surprise. "So you can't find it?"

Lizzy shakes her head. "I couldn't let Ciel know that I lost the dress he bought me, you know? I just couldn't! So I went out to search for it."

"Did you find it?"

Elizabeth nods, just as her eyes start to water. I can feel my genuine concern for this poor girl rising. "I-it must've blown out the window or something while I was sleeping because I found it in the garden just outside my bedroom!"

"So you found it?" My voice is filled with relief and confusion. If she did find it, why is she crying? "What's wrong?"

"I-it was destroyed! The birds must've gotten to it because the fabric was all torn apart and damaged!"

My heart sinks upon hearing this. Poor Elizabeth… and she was really looking forward to wearing the dress, too. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Lizzy."

Little droplets of tears start to dribble down her face. Her voice starts coming out higher and in little hitches. "I-I wanted to look cute for Ciel…"

Each droplet hits a spot of fabric on her dress, making a little circle of water. I reach forward for the blonde, taking her hand in mine. "Oh, no, that's not true. You still have the green dress, remember?"

"I-it's not as _cute_!"

"But it's still really adorable! Would you like to wear that instead?"

"Ciel bought it for you…"

I release a small laugh. "We both know I can't really fit in that. Would you want to wear the green dress instead?"

Elizabeth nods, albeit it being a minuscule action. I smile, using both my hands to wipe the tears off her cheek. "Let's not cry, okay? Smiling is cuter."

Elizabeth nods again and I make my way into the closet, easily finding the green dress that was made for her. There's only two dresses hanging in my closet, this green one and the one Sebastian and I finally found for me to wear at the party. It's not quite as fancy, colored in black and white with only a few spots embroidered, but nonetheless the dress fits me nicely and is very pretty.

I take the green dress and pass it to Elizabeth, who reluctantly takes it out of my grasp. "You'll look just as cute okay? Besides, Ciel likes you because you're Lizzy, not for any other reason."

Lizzy sniffs a few times. "You think so?"

I've only just met Ciel, so I really don't know jack shit about him. But what, am I supposed to tell Lizzy that? No way. I smile slightly. "Yeah."

.~~~

"Lizzy changed her dress?" It comes out more like a statement than a question. Nonetheless, I look at Ciel surprised.

"You noticed?" I ask in a whisper. We're currently sitting on two seats by the edge of the big dance hall. Everyone is walking around, socializing, and enjoying the music. The party has started less than an hour ago, yet it's already so lively. Sebastian moves between person to person, delicately offering foods and drinks. There are a surprisingly large amount of people here, though most of them are adults.

Ciel gives me a strange look. I notice that he's not socializing as much as a regular host of a party does. Currently, he's dressed in a nice rich navy blue suit. It's almost adorable how well it fits him. His eye patch stays though, which is something I don't think I'll ever get. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." I shrug. Ciel just doesn't look like the type to notice these things. Maybe it's the way he dresses, maybe it's because he's _twelve_. "I gave her the dress to wear at the last second."

"What happened to the pink one? She did say that it was cuter."

"That one got wrecked." I reply. "It was really sad. She was crying a lot."

"Is that so?" Ciel's eyes dart to Lizzy's form in the middle of the room. She's hopping around from person to person, her eyes shining with happiness at each conversation she has. She really is an adorable little girl. "She really is an idiot." Though the words are harsh, Ciel says them with a satisfied smile on his face. "When will she realize that she looks perfectly _fine_ the way she is?"

"Aww," I say upon hearing those words. I place my hands to my heart – or at least, attempted to. This goddamn dress and corset is the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I don't know how I was ever used to this. "That's honestly so sweet. You really care a lot for Lizzy don't you?"

"She is my fiancée."

"Yeah," I agree, nodding my head. Suddenly, I remember something. The conversation I had with Sebastian yesterday. The one where he told me to tell Ciel about my sister. I sneak a glance at Ciel. How can he possibly help me? He's a mere kid.

"U-uh, hey Ciel…" His gaze darts from the crowd of people to me. How am I supposed to tell him this?_ Oh, hey, I have a sister who I took through a magic portal to save from dying. We're actually from the 21st century. Can you do me a favour and help me find her? Please?_ "Sebastian told me to tell you about this…"

"What is it?"

"It's actually about my sister…"

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah." I reply, taking a deep breath. This might be harder than I thought. "Um, the last time I saw her was before I awoke in your garden. I was… trying to protect her from getting killed."

"She was about to get murdered? Why?" Then, Ciel pauses as he jumps to his own conclusions. "By your kidnapper."

_Don't deny nor confirm it_. "I think… I just – I don't know where she is. And she –"

"Might be dead?" I nod my head instead of answering. "But if she's not, you want me to help you find her? Why? What do you know about me?"

Ciel suddenly getting defensive surprises me. Is there something I should know about him? I reply with a quick, "What? Nothing! Sebastian just told me to tell you."

"Well, then." Ciel smiles a dull smile. "That's no surprise as I have quite an expertise in these things."

"You do?" But he's _twelve_.

Ciel nods as his eyes start to asses me like a stranger. Suddenly, I feel like I'm being interviewed, as if Ciel's considering if my case is important enough for him to bother in. "I don't usually help out guests this much."

"Oh." My heart sinks. I guess this will mean I'll have to search for Victoria on my own. "Oh, I'm sorry to –"

"I will help you, though. In fact, we can start tomorrow."

"Really?" My eyes widen in surprise. This is the second time that he's so nice to me. "Thank you so much."

"You really don't need to thank me." Ciel leans forward into his seat. Though he's talking to me, he's facing the middle of the room. "A murderer running around? This is a case that I'd like to get to the bottom of before it blows up."

**I feel my my characters are getting ooc? Are they? Tell me if they are **

**i feel like half of what runs through valentina's mind is "lol what the shit Ciel's 12 wtf"**

**okay and replies to review!**

**cerulean: okay I know I basically died, especially at the end when doll died. I hate this show for making me feel so many things. who do I vote for? the circus people who loves each other and was so vulnerable and persuasive that they literally killed to stay together? or the poor boy who's been through so much that he sold his soul to a demon? Why black butler why **

**review if you want to. It will make me happy. I will probably reply. **

**adios~~~~~~~~~~**


	9. Red for blood, blue for tears, green for

Elizabeth has been scratching at herself for almost the entire party so far. It doesn't seem normal, not very a ladylike thing for her to do. Every time she uses her nails to go across the surface of her skin, I see her looking around guiltily, as if she were picking her nose or something.

"Are you okay, Lizzy? Is something wrong?"

Elizabeth's eyes widen in surprise when I suddenly appear next to her. "Oh, no, I'm fine! It's just that… this dress… it's so itchy." An adorable pout etches on her face as she surreptitiously scratch a spot on her back.

"Oh, dear." I say, taking a step torward to her. "Are you okay? Do you want to switch dresses?"

"In the middle of my birthday party?" Elizabeth gives me a horrified look and shakes her head. "No way! I'll just wear this one."

I pucker my lips. She's being stubborn. I stick my hand out for her. "You don't need to do this just for Ciel. He would still like you either way. Come, let's get you –"

"No!" Lizzy steps out of my reach, using both hands to hold the dress closer to her body. "All the other dresses won't be as special. I want this one!"

"Lizzy, I –"

Before I can even fully register that's happening, Lizzy turns her back to me and runs away, her little blonde hair bouncing behind her. I stare, confused, at her retreating form. I don't think I've ever met someone who's so dedicated to their significant other. And she's only 13, too… I sigh. I hope that I didn't genuinely upset her.

"You've caused quite a mess, Miss Caverly."

Sebastian moves like a ninja. I could've sworn the last time I saw him, which was when I approached Lizzy, he was all the way across the room, serving drinks to a few guests. However, here he is now, no less than five minutes later, he's somehow made his way to right next to me without me noticing a thing.

When he sees me finally noticing him, he smiles, lifting up a circular tray with just a glass cup left. "Would you like something to drink?"

I nod and take the drink from the tray. "Thanks." I say as Sebastian tucks the metal plate under his arm. I take a few sips from the drink - which turns out to be a really well made martini. "I really didn't mean to make her sad." I says referring to Elizabeth. "There's still at least two hours left of this party. She really shouldn't force herself to wear something that she doesn't find comfortable just because of Ciel."

"Ms. Elizabeth insists on doing that?" A pause. "Hm. Humans are quite fascinating, aren't they?"

Lizzy has someone managed to wipe the frown that was on her face and she's back on her feet again, socializing with a smile on her face like she doesn't have a care in the world. "Yeah," I nod in agreement to Sebastian's words as I turn around to face him. "Yeah, we are..."

I let my mind wonder for a while, thinking about just how fascinating the people I've met in the past two days are. I have met the boy who tries to act like an adult, the man who enjoys playing with snakes, the butler who's the epitome of perfection, the servants who can hardly do anything at all, and the girl who tries so hard to be the perfect, cute girl. All of them are such unique characters of their own.

I shake my head. I'm at a party. Why am I thinking so deeply? "Anyways," I say to Sebastian to catch his attention. "Nice party. You really did a good job planning it."

"I did not plan it. The young master did."

I roll my eyes. Something tells me that modest Sebastian is back. This time,though, I decide to try to push his limits a bit for fun. "Really?" I say, taking a challenging step closer to him. "So you're saying that Ciel put this –" I use my hands to gesture to everything around me. "party – _all_ of it, all together by himself?"

Sebastian leans closer to me so that his face is closer to mine. "That is correct."

"Wow." I raise an eyebrow. "That is impressive. Ciel really has everything in him, doesn't he? I should really go give him a congratulatory hug right now."

He chuckles. "Should a lady really be questioning me like this?"

His question catches me a bit off guard, and I lose my pace for a bit. It's not every day you get called out for your behavior just because you're a girl. "S-shut up. Answer my question."

Sebastian removes his face from in front of mine. He turns to fiddle around with his metal tray. "Although I did plan, clean, cook, invite the guests for, serve and organize the entire event, the young master will take all the credit. I will be nothing without his orders."

Orders are just verbal commands, though. What meaning do they really hold? "So what you're saying is that Ciel did nothing and you did everything."

"No, that is not the case."

"But you implied it, did you not?"

"No, that's –"

I directly cut him off. "That's too bad." I say, leaning my back against the counter we're next to. "Because I was just going to talk about how brilliant the man behind this party is. I guess a small twelve year old boy really did outdo his butler…"

My eyes catch to something behind Sebastian. Finny, Mey-Rin and Bardroy all stumble into the room. Finny goes in first as he fumbles with the door to keep it open for the two behind him. Mey-Rin walks in, two bottles of wine in hand and Bardroy follows with a circular tray similar to the one Sebastian's holding.

I cringe slightly at their formation. The way Mey-Rin's walking – one foot over the other like a confused penguin – she's definitely going to drop the bottles in no time. They're coming in our direction in quite a quick speed. Sebastian doesn't seem to notice. I hear him chuckle quietly. "Ms. Caverly, are _you_ perhaps implying something?"

"H-huh?" I tear my eyes from the disaster that's going to happen and back to Sebastian. The group of three is almost right next to us now. I force myself to focus on what Sebastian's said earlier. Then, I sigh slightly. "I'm not. It's – it's a great house though, Sebastian. So either way, congratulations on keeping it in such a good condition."

Mey-Rin – now just a meter away from us – trips over her feet. I watch in horror as she stumbles forward, the two bottles of wine flying out of her hand. Since she's ahead of Bardroy and Finny, I watch as the latter panics to retrieve the wine. Instead of doing any help, though, he runs forward into Bardroy and knocks the tray out of his hand. All three of them yell out in surprise.

Before I can fully register what's happening, the tray that Sebastian was holding gets shoved in my grasp. Sebastian leaves my side for a few moments and quickly moves around with actions that my eyes are having a hard time grasping. Suddenly, he's in front of me again, his hair and clothes back in perfect formation. He also has the two bottles of wine that Mey-Rin dropped in his left hand and the tray in his right.

"Thank you." Sebastian replies to me as if the past 30 seconds never happened. He smiles an ironic smile at me, knowing that the servants are watching. "As you can see, in order to maintain a manor so large, a number of servants are required. Such as the gardener –" Upon hearing this, Finny's eyes brighten in excitement. He just seems excited that Sebastian is not scolding him. " – the chef – " an arrogant smirk crosses Bardroy's face. " –a maid – " a flush colours Mey-Rin's cheeks. " – and a butler. Unfortunately," Sebastian's voice turns dull. He places the bottles onto the tray. "This house is only packed with a singular butler – that's me of course – so I have to do all the work by myself."

The grins and smiles of the servants dim noticeably. Only Bardroy is standing there with a kind of annoyed on his face. Sebastian turns towards the servants, a fake smile still dancing on his lips. He shoves the tray with bottles towards Mey-Rin. "Take these to Mr. Robertson right away. Do _not_ drop it again."

Mey-Rin obeys immediately, bowing multiple times. "O-of course! I'll do it right away." She grabs the plate from Sebastian's hand and the three runs off again.

What just happened is still slowly processing through my head. It was amazing. I was sure that the glasses were going to drop but then Sebastian – quick as a ninja, wow – just came in and saved everything. "That was so amazing." I say, astounded.

"Oh, that?" Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "Nonesense. That is merely something that a butler must do."

My jaw drops. There Sebastian is, standing in front of me, looking like a freaking superhero or something and he just brushes it off as _something a butler must do?_ "I – I don't… you're so… that was so…" I close my mouth for a bit to process my thoughts. "Okay, so what? You're talented, an _amazing_ chef, the perfect butler, incredibly in shape, and also really hot? What's that about? Why are you also _so hot?_"

"I actually get that question a lot." Sebastian says, tugging a bit at his suit. My eyes widen. He gets asked why he's hot a lot? And he's fidgeting with his clothes? Oh, my God is he going to take them off? "This suit is actually made up of a really nice, thin material imported from Germany. Despite its dark colour, I never really get _too_ hot in this."

Oh, right. Sebastian is probably not familiar with slang words from my time. "No, uh… hot is basically another word for handsome, maybe? Attractive? Good looking?"

"You asked me why I'm attractive?"

_Not literally_. It's a rhetorical question. "Uh, yeah. Basically, I guess."

It surprises me when Sebastian actually bothers to answer this question. "I believe the answer is simple." He smiles. "Humans are more likely to trust, confide, and find comfort in others who are attractive. Looking like this has its advantages."

I roll my eyes. He says that as if he had a choice as to deciding what his physical appearance may be. "People are not that shallow."

"Would you like to test that?" Sebastian takes a step towards me so that he's suddenly very close to me. Because I'm leaning against a counter, he basically has me trapped. "Tell me, Ms. Caverly, how much do _you_ trust me?"

The lack of space between us makes me blush. His question does raise a good point, though. I surprisingly have a lot of comfort in this man in front of me, despite him threatening my death the first night I met him. Why? It can't be because he's good looking, can it? "N-none at all." I turn my head away, closing my eyes stubbornly. "I don't trust you at all."

Sebastian's hands start to slide along the counter so his arms are closer to me. "Are you sure? Maybe you're –"

The proximity finally gets to my head, and I jump to the side considerably. I tug at my collar, feeling nervous. "Geez, it's hot in here, isn't it? S-Sebastian, why don't you go turn the heat down a little or something?"

Sebastian looks surprised that I suddenly jumped out of his grasp but he quickly collects himself. He puts a conflicted look on his face. "Ms. Abigail earlier was complaining about how cold it was so I made it warmer. Is it too much now?"

"Yes it's too much. That's probably why Lizzy was so uncomfortable in her dress. You better go fix it right now."

He stares at me for a while before sighing. "If it's a must, I guess I will…"

"Yes, go! Do that now."

Sebastian bows to me, turning his back to leave. I blow out a sigh of relief. What was that? Did Sebastian just try to seduce me or something? I shake my head. No, he was probably just screwing around me with.

I watch the crowd partying and having fun all around me. I can hardly find Ciel anymore, along with Lizzy and the servants. There seems to be no one I know of here. It's very lonely to be at a party with no one you know. Occasionally, I would feels eyes on me, and I know they're wondering who this weird new girl is.

Suddenly, my eyes brighten as a familiar face come into view. What doesn't seem so appealing, though, is the amount of snakes attached to the person with the familiar face. Snake seems to spot me immediately, too, and he slowly makes his way towards me. He's wearing a nice formal black suit, and it surprises me that Ciel allows Snake to be sporting snakes at Lizzy's party. "Hello." Snake says when he's in hearing distance. "Says Goethe."

Goethe, who is way too close to me, sticks her tongue out at me just as I lean my head back to get away. "H-hello, Goethe." I feel my fear of any creatures start to kick in as my palms start sweating.

"Have you seen Sebastian? Asks Oscar."

The snake retreats. "S-Sebastian? Yeah. I was just with him. He left though."

"That's too bad. Says Wilde. We were supposed to return this book to him." A red and yellow snake behind him stretches out to reveal her lower part wrapped around a large black book. It drops the book on the counter. "I guess we will have to return it later."

"MmnHmmn." I take another step away from him. "So, uh, how's the party been?"

"It's been okay. Says Wordsworth. We've just been walking around."

"Yeah." I nod my head. "I haven't been doing anything, either."

A snake that is wrapped around his body slithers to beside his ear and hisses. "I want to run around in the garden. Says Webster."

Snake faces the snake and nods. "Okay then. Says Oscar. Let's go."

I have a feeling that Snake forgot that I'm even here. He's too busy talking to his snakes. He turns in his spot, and is about to start walking when he pauses. His eyes scan his surroundings. "Something is wrong. Says Bronte."

"What is it?"

"Over there." A snake unravels itself and sticks it's head to the left. "It's over there. Says Bronte." Snake doesn't bother waiting for my response before he starts walking away. I contemplated staying behind, assuming that whatever it is is probably not that important. Nonetheless, curiosity got the best of me and I follow him.

Pass a door and to another room, a small crowd of people has gathered in the corner. They're all facing something in the middle, muttering to each other. I look for Snake to ask what's happening, but he's already out of my sight. Something major has happened, and from the way people are reacting, it can't be good.

Out the corner of my eye, I see a dirty blond head leave the crowd. "Bardroy!" I say, and his head snaps in my direction. I run towards him, holding up my long skirt as I do. When I finally am standing in front of him I voice my question. "What's going on?"

Bardroy crosses his arms over his chest, looking over at the crowd with a concerned expression. His cigarette in his mouth moves as he speaks. "I can't believe it really. It's really weird. But the young master's fiancée -" he uses one hand to scratch the back of his head. "Well, she just suddenly fainted."

**Yay for anticlimactic endings that are meant to be climatic**

**yay for stealing scenes straight from the manga cause they're freaking hilarious **

**Okay so the reason this chapter took so long for me to get out and also the writing is so bad is because this chapter is probably the most tedious one I had to write so far. Its mostly dialogue (that can't really be that interesting cause they just met and have you ever seen sebastian really delve into conversation with a character before?) and it was supposed to be longer but I just got so bored and ended it next chapter will be a lot more fun though, so it might come out sooner **

**nonetheless, reply time: =)**

**CeruleanCat: it was the saddest thing watching the anime and knowing that they're going to die at the end. It was like readying myself to get stabbed x( at least they all went to heaven, though, and when dagger showed up it was so sad wtf kuro the writing is so well done because I know I'm supposed to be like "Boooo killing children" but instead I feel sad**

**To random reader who gave me advice (thanks btw, maybe log in as a user so I can reply properly? =p): yeah, reading back on it I realise that the way she acts and her surroundings is a bit weird. However I think that since she just moved to the 19th century, she wouldn't automatically fit in. Therefore, instead of changing her way of speaking in this chapter, I instead tried to change people's reaction to her more 21st century actions so it wouldn't be so normalized and they're more weirded out by them. As the story progress, she'll fit in more. Thanks for the critique though!**

**on that note, any critique is welcomed. Review! It will make me happy and I will reply **

**I think that's all. Next update will be soon :)**

**adios~~~~~~~~**


	10. Unexpected Turnaround

"What?" My eyes widen in surprise. "H-how? I-is she okay? Wait no. That's a stupid question. She fainted. Of course she's not okay."

"Well, we're not too sure ourselves." Bardroy shrugs. "I mean, it _was _going pretty well until she – well, yeah."

"So, what?" I stick a thumb out to the direction of the crowd. "She's just lying in the middle people there? They could be suffocating her! Is she alone?"

"The young master is there, too…"

I almost roll my eyes. _The young master is twelve, _I want to say, _how can he possibly be helping? _Still, I bite my tongue, knowing that saying something like that can get me as much as kicked out. 'Well, I'll go check anyways."

The crowd of people does not bother to acknowledge the strange girl trying to squeeze her way to the front. The strange girl being me, by the way. I look at them in annoyance. Most of them aren't even curious for the wellbeing of Elizabeth. They're just in this giant circle to talk with their friends.

Finally reaching the front of the crowd, I see the unconscious Elizabeth. She's lying on the ground, her cheeks flushed, and her hair splattering on the marble tiles. Her green dress is messily surrounding her. Not so surprising, Ciel is there too, kneeling right above her.

I take a step towards the two, ready to help. However, I'm stopped shortly in my tracks when I feel a hand tug on my arm, pulling me back. I stumble a little in surprise and look up to see who pulled me back. Of course, it was no other than the most capable butler of the world. He always comes at the most perfect moments, doesn't he?

"The young master is taking care of the situation for now." He lowers his head so his mouth is next to my ear. I can feel his breath with every word he speaks. "It'd be best to not disturb him now."

Sebastian being so close to me temporarily erases all thought from my head for a second, and all I do is nob. He's so closed to me I feel his sadistic smile against my skin.

Ciel first places his ear on Lizzy's chest, and then over her nose. He then flattens his hand against her forehead, and then to his. He repeats his procedure around three times before seeming to come to conclusion. "Sebastian."

Sebastian's hand doesn't move from my body. Nonetheless, he replies. "Yes, master?"

"Take Lizzy back to her room for now. Take care of her until I arrive."

In almost a second Sebastian is no longer behind me, and is instead beside Ciel. Gently, he carries Lizzy up bridal style and then bows to Ciel with her still in his hands. "Yes, my Lord."

Ciel nods at Sebastian and turns to the rest of the crowd just as his butler is walking away. The boy puts a charming look on his face. "Please do not worry about her. She was a little bit sick before the party even started. To compensate for the trouble, we will be serving extra refreshments prepared specially by my butler."

Sebastian's retreating form freezes momentarily as his back visibly tenses. I stop myself from a giggle. Something tells me that the _extra refreshments _idea is not something that the two agreed on.

The crowd begins to dispatch as everyone gets back to what they were doing before. "Wait, Ciel." I say and his attention turns to me. "Can I also help with Lizzy?"

The little boy hesitates. "You are a guest –"

"Yeah, I know. But surely Sebastian can use a woman's hand?"

Ciel sighs. "It doesn't affect me. You may do as you please, then."

Finding Lizzy's room is hard, but with the help of Ciel's instructions, I am able to do so. I probably spent ten more minutes than what it usually takes from my wandering around though. When I enter the room, Sebastian is there, standing over and looking down at Lizzy's body. She's currently lying on the gigantic bed placed at the top left of the room. Her chest is rising up and down with every breath that she takes. She has a towel over her head. From the bin of water that's also on her nightstand, the towel is probably wet.

Upon hearing me enter, Sebastian's head snap towards the door. "Ms. Caverly?"

"I, uh, the party was boring anyways." I say, for some reason feeling like that I need to explain myself. "How's Lizzy doing?"

"I've put a cloth on her to cool down her temperature for now. I can't do anything more without the young master's orders though."

"We'll I'm here to help." I walk to right beside Sebastian. "Any reasons to why she would suddenly faint?"

Sebastian shakes his head. "Not particularly. Such a thing like this has never happened to Ms. Elizabeth before." The two of us stands in silence for a while before he speaks again. "Since you are here you might as well just take care of Ms. Elizabeth while I go. That is, if you don't mind of course."

The way he talks sounds like he's challenging me. "Of course I don't mind." Sebastian takes the water bin from the night stand and proceeds to exit the room. Right when he's at the door, I ask him something. "Where are you going?"

Sebastian turns around. "To prepare some refreshments, of course." An ironic smile appears on his face. "It is what my master wanted, after all."

I can't help the cynical chuckle that comes out of me, along with the just as bad remark. "Oh, right. Prepare something extra for me, will you?"

The door slams shut behind him.

Ciel makes his entrance in the room around thirty minutes before the party officially ended. Apparently he had to cut it short because the birthday girl - the person whom this party is thrown for - is not present. Out of the corner of my eye I see that Lau had follow him here, too, but because he doesn't make as big of an entrance as Ciel I don't pay much attention to him.

Ciel walks over to Lizzy's side in quick, small steps. He looks down at her with his one eye and then to Sebastian. And then me. "Well?" He says. "How is she?"

"She's the same as before." I reply. "Her temperature has gone up, though, and she seems to have trouble breathing."

"Well that's obvious. She's still in the dress she insists on wearing." Ciel says. "Are you guys idiots? It must be making it hard to breathe. Please, for the love of god take it off of her."

Immediately I jump up from my seat. "Wait!" I exclaim. I want the best for the little girl passed out on the bed, sure, but what Ciel requested can't possibly be something that she would approve of. While people might be thinking for Lizzy, they're not thinking _with _Lizzy. "Lizzy would absolutely be miserable if she found out that you saw her while she was indecent. Perhaps there's something else that we could do?"

Ciel looks at me like I just grew another head. "Are you _kidding _me? Elizabeth can most possibly be on her death bed right now. Do you think I really _care_ for something as insignificant as that?"

"But -" I start and then promptly shut my mouth. Ciel's right. That was incredibly selfish. "I'm sorry, you're right. Please." I say, gesturing towards her.

Ciel sighs in annoyance while also averting his gaze from Elizabeth. "I won't look, however. You and Mey-Rin can take the dress off of her. Give it to Sebastian afterwards so it can be washed."

I smile a little. Even after that Ciel still takes what I said into consideration. It's incredibly moving. "Of course." I say.

"Sebastian." Ciel says and the butler who's been standing behind my armchair turns his attention to Ciel. "Have you found out the reason for why Lizzy suddenly fainted yet?"

"I'm afraid not, master, you have not given me instructions yet to do so."

"Do you really _need _instructions?" Ciel sneers. I realise that I've viewing a different side to him that's not just fake smiles and politeness. "As the butler of the Phantomhive household this should've been the most obvious action to take."

I feel Sebastian tense behind me. "Of course, young master, my sincerest apologies. I'll invite a doctor to come right away."

Sebastian doesn't make his return until around forty five minutes after. By then, Lizzy's already awoken. Her fever seems to have gone down but she doesn't look to be any better. Ciel sits by her side, helping her with every request. It's quite sweet actually.

When Sebastian enters, Ciel stands. He looks behind his butler expectantly. "Well, where is the doctor? I know it's late but surely it wouldn't take him this long."

Sebastian closes the door behind him, and I realise he's holding Lizzy's dress. That's weird. "I did not call one."

"What?" Ciel exclaims. "Sebastian it was an ord -"

"I'm afraid I've already discovered the source of the problem."

This causes Ciel to become less tense and he sits back down in his seat. "What is it, then?"

Sebastian walks closer to Ciel and I, and he takes the dress he's holding behind him out. "I believe the reason Ms. Elizabeth fainted is because of this dress."

"What's wrong with it?" I chip in.

"While taking the dress to be washed, carefully by myself of course, I realise that the inside of it seems to have been sewed together quite unprofessionally. This is quite strange to me as the outside does not seem to have the same problem. Such a messily made dress can sure cause an uncomfortable wearing."

The pieces click in my head. "That's why she was itching so much! You say this was on purpose? Did Abigail make a mistake?"

Sebastian shakes his head. "Abigail is one of the most hired seamstress in England. She's very well known. This problem does not seem to occur in the other dress that she designed for Ms. Elizabeth."

"Continue, Sebastian." Ciel says.

Sebastian obeys. "Naturally I decide to inspect the dress further. To my surprise," Sebastian ruthlessly tears the dress in two. I hear a gasp of surprise from Lizzy and myself. Sebastian shows us the inside of the dress. "It seem that the dress has been dipped in Emerald Arsenic."

_That's poison, _I immediately think, but don't say aloud for some reason.

"So what?" Ciel says.

"Why, you don't know, young master?" Sebastian replies challengingly, earning him a glare from Ciel. "Emerald Arsenic has been quite a popular dye in dresses and paintings. It was only until recently that it has been revealed that the chemical is indeed a poisonous one. Of course, upon hearing that news, all usage of the dye seized almost immediately. The fact that someone, a professional seamstress I may add, is still using it is quite strange. Any usage of the chemical will indeed make a dress that is - 'laced with poison.'"

"So." I choke out, looking back to Elizabeth. "Abigail did this to her?"

"Most probably not." He replies. "The inside is quite messily dyed, not a work that would've been done intentionally by a professional. It's probably someone who has no experience being a seamstress. In fact, I believe we would have the most luck looking for the last person who's had the dress before Ms. Elizabeth's worn it the longest."

"My, my." A voice pops up. Lau, who's been silent the entire time finally decides to speak. "Valentina, didn't you so humbly offer the dress to Ms. Elizabeth right before the party started?"

I feel my ears turning red as soon as I realise what he's suggesting. The nerve of him, really. He doesn't talk for the entire time and chooses to speak _now _with an accusation against me. "Are you saying I'm the one who poisoned her dress?"

Lau shakes his head as he snuggles closer to Ran-Mao. "Now, now. No need to get defensive. I _am _just making an observation."

"You were against taking off Lizzy's dress." Ciel sits higher in his seat now, his interest obviously perked. "Could this be because of...?"

"I did but -" I promptly shut my mouth as I feel my heartbeat kicking up. I can practically feel each thump in my ear. I look around frantically. "It wasn't me. You can't believe it was me."

"You are just a strange girl who's requested to stay at the Phantomhive." Lau says casually. "What do we know about what you can possibly be hiding?"

"Shut up." I say in an immediate response, and then realise how terrible of a situation I've put myself in because I said it. Mentally, I scold myself. Now is _not _the time to be rude.

"Ciel. _Ciel." _Lizzy nudges Ciel's arm gently and we all turn to look at the sick girl. "It can't be Valentina. She helped me. I just wanted to look cute for you, and she helped."

_ Thank you, Elizabeth, _I want to say, _thank you so much._

"Well if it's not Valentina who can it be?" Lau says. "All the signs seem to be pointing to her."

I find myself wanting to cry. Yes, the signs may be pointing to me but I would _never _do _anything _like that. I look to Ciel with a pleading look in my eyes. He's got to believe me.

Ciel breaks eye contact with me, turning back to Elizabeth. His voice is quiet when he speaks. "Perhaps you should make your way back to your room, Ms. Caverly."

I feel my heart sink. He doesn't believe me. Or at least, he's _suspicious _of me. Somehow the events turned so that I made a little boy believe that I tried to kill his fiancée. Instead of arguing though, I just nod instead. Reluctantly I get up from my seat.

"Sebastian. Escort Ms. Caverly to her room."

If I didn't feel like shit before, I do now. Not only is Ciel suspicious of me, he is essentially sending a bodyguard to monitor me to my room. I take a deep breath, choking back a few tears. How this happened to me so quickly I've got no idea.

The walk back to my room is awkward, tense, and silent. Sebastian doesn't say anything. Multiple times I look up at him to see what he thinks of the situation, but his face hardly says anything. It's blank the entire time.

He takes me to my room, my heart thumping the entire time. My head running like crazy. _How do I fix this? How do I fix this? _Nothing I can say will make them know I'm innocent. What evidence do I possibly have? Someone's got to believe me, someone's _got _to.

"Sebastian." I say in a panic, turning around and grabbing his suit. He flinches a bit in surprise. "Sebastian, _please, please _you must believe me I didn't do it. I didn't _do it!"_ I absolutely hate how pathetic my voice sounds. How pathetic my begging sounds.

Sebastian doesn't speak. He places his hands on my waist. For a second there I thought he might be on my side. That he might be hugging me in comfort. Instead, with one swift tug, he pulls me away from him and onto the bed that's behind me.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Caverly. I'm afraid that's not my decision to make."

I look up at his tall form, the way he towers over me. "Sebastian..."

"Have a good rest, Ms. Caverly. Before you do anything please remember that the Phantomhive household is packed with servants and of course - me."

I gulp.

**so cocidentally, ive also been really really sick so i havent been able to write. ahhh i feel like shit. my writing is shit. ahhh. im having trouble imagining what in love sebastian would do because the most obvious is that he wouldnt like to admit it but like he really loves cats? and he treats those like his own baby so i dont know xD **

**im going to go really soon cause i feel like shit but okay okay:**

**CeruleanCat: ****you have got to be my favorite person so far. thank you so much for the compliments :3 it urged me to look at your fanfic but unfortunately, you only have one chapter :( it'll be great if you post more :)**

**okay thats it think**

**adios ~~~~**


	11. House of Surprises

Safe to say, I have been sitting in my room for the past two hours or so. The ceiling pattern is one that I've long since traced over and over again in my mind. I seem to be doing this a lot – hiding out in my room that is. I shake my head. This is childish, _extremely _childish. I'm a grown adult for _god's sake. _

I decide to take it from myself to attempt to find the servants again. It's been too damn long that I have been in waiting in that room, and the lack of activity I've gotten is probably not healthy. It's supposed to be my _bedroom_, anyways, not a prison. I need to stop being so scared of Sebastian. Last time he threatened me, he ended up acting like it never happened the next day. Chances are, he will be the same this time.

Still, just for precautions, I will try to find Mey-Rin or Baldroy first. Sebastian won't kill me in front of other people, right?

I tiptoe out of my room as quiet as I can, hoping not to let anyone know that I am trying to leave. Sebastian comes to mind, his sickly sweet voice warning me not dare try to escape. The thought races my heart in fear a tiny bit although I have clearly no reason to be. I'm not _trying _to escape anything. I'm no prisoner here. I just want to exit my room and get a small walk around the place.

Without bumping into Sebastian, of course.

Something draws me to walk towards the kitchen. I tell myself it is because it's the most reasonable place for servants of a big mansion to be, and definitely not because of the delicious aroma that is emitting out of it. It doesn't help that I'm also quite hungry, and passing by a hallway that smelled like all my favorite foods mixed in one doesn't help.

And thus, I find myself in front of the kitchen door. I take one more big sniff of the smell.

I knock three times on the door. Without waiting for a response, I enter, gently pushing the door to peek inside.

Then, I scream.

You can't blame me, really. What I see when I enter is possibly the scariest thing I've yet to see. Imagine the person who has constantly threatened to kill you, standing before you with a kitchen apron and a butcher knife the size of his freaking head.

Sebastian looks up at me, surprised to see a visitor. Then – of fucking course – he smiles. "Ms. Caverly. So nice of you to finally wake up."

He hasn't placed the knife down yet, and the death weapon, matched with that freaking smile of his sends fear throughout me. I refuse to let it show on my face, though. Even if I am scared, I have learned to not let such a thing show.

"Have you ate anything yet? It is almost 2PM."

"I'm looking for the servants."

"You should eat." I sigh in relief as he finally puts down the knife and move to a cooking pot adjacent to him. I realise that the delicious smell that I was following before came from the pot of soup he was boiling. Sebastian opens the pot, and lifts up a large metal spoon. He scoops a large spoonful of soup and I watch as he gently takes a sip. His eyebrows furrow as if he's dissatisfied with the taste.

Nonetheless, he turns to me, spoon in hand and all. "The soup is perfected. Would you like a taste?"

Cautiously I scan Sebastian up and down. Okay, I admit it; I don't feel safe around him. Who would, really? Half the time I swear he's bipolar. He promises my death one moment and then the next, he's offering me soup?

Sebastian looks at me expectantly, his tall form towering over me. He's skinny, but the handsome kind of skinny. I don't know if I even want an extra buff guy as a romantic interest anyways. So, unfortunately for me, Sebastian is definitely the most attractive guy I've personally met.

Still, around him, I don't know if I'm ever safe.

"What if you poisoned it?" I ask.

A small chuckle is my response. "You surely just saw me drink some. Would I poison myself just to kill you?"

I purse my lips. Okay, he made a point, sure. But that doesn't mean anything. "I'll pass."

Sebastian sighs, shaking his head. He steps closer to me, suddenly pressing the metal spoon against my mouth. The material tingles against my lips and I can feel the heat of the soup on my face. It sure does smell good…

"Ms. Caverly," Sebastian starts. "You must eat. It is quite vital for humans to survive like this. If you were to starve to death…"

He trails off, as if the thought gives him discomfort. I can't help but immediately think of the positive side. Certainly this means he doesn't want me to die, right?

"…well then it would be quite a hassle to clean up your dead body. Not to mention that finding a place to put a dead body is not as easy as one would think –"

"I get it." I interrupt, not wanting to hear more. It feels as if he's dumped a bucket of cold water on me. How foolish of me earlier to actually think for a second that he cares about me.

A strong feeling of disappointment flows through me, and it makes me suddenly shove Sebastian away without paying attention to the spoonful of soup he's holding. The hot liquid lands on me. The burning sensation follows shortly after. I hiss at the feeling, shaking my hand as I feel tears starting to rush to my eyes.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."

"What an idiotic thing to do." In a few quick seconds, I feel a tug on my arm and then suddenly, cold water is being poured over my hand. I blink twice, and realise that Sebastian is holding my hand in a sink, letting the freezing water soak my burn.

Sebastian lets the water run for a few minutes. Then he takes my hand from the sink, gently shaking them a few times. Just now I realise that he's still wearing his gloves. The image makes me frown. Does he wear them everywhere, even when cooking? And now he's got them all wet, too. That can't feel good.

"Sebastian…" I say. "Your gloves…"

Using my other hand, I reach over for his gloves, gently starting to take them off for him. It surprises me to see him suddenly flinch away from me, staring at me warily. I give him a confused look and he seems to compose himself, clearing his throat being talking. "I don't believe my gloves are the priority right now, Ms. Caverly."

"Priority?" My eyebrows furrow. "That's ridiculous, Sebastian, it's just a pair of _gloves. _Take them off. It won't take too long. Having wet gloves on can't be comfortable."

Sebastian's shoulders relaxes as he walks towards me again, once again taking my hand in his wet one. He guides me to a nearby storage room and brings out a small pack of ice, putting it over my burns. "Your comfort above mine, Ms. Caverly. After all, I am merely a butler."

_Yeah, but it's not like it takes an hour for you to take a damn pair of gloves off, _I want to say. Instead, I watch him take care of burn. He has already taken out some bandages – from where I have no idea – and is starting to wrap them around my hand carefully. It's a bit over the top if you ask me but I won't complain.

I _am _surprised, though. I did not think that Sebastian can know so much medical-wise. The more I discover about him, the more he seems to be mythical. Almost impossible. Omnipotent. Is there anything in this world that he can't do? Now _that _will be a sight to see.

"Be careful," Sebastian says, wrapping the bandage around my hand one last time. He does a little complicated twirl thing with the end that seems to keep it in place. "If you keep acting so clumsy, it may eventually lead to your death if I am not there to help."

Shit. He's doing it again. He's doing that thing where he says something nice and it makes me believe for a few seconds that he may care for my existence. I hold my breath as I wait for his insulting finish.

When he replies with nothing, I can't help but be curious. Was that sentence really said out of the niceness of his heart? If he has one, that is. "You wouldn't want me dead?"

"Of course not." My eyes widen. That's… actually pretty nice. Sebastian finally looks up at me, his eyes in a sarcastic smile and I knew that the next thing he's going to say will be the insult that I'm waiting for. "If death is to ever bestow upon you, I must make sure that I am the reason it happens."

There it is.

Fuck my life.

Dinner comes shortly after, so in the end I'm forced to eat Sebastian's cooking. I act as if I don't enjoy it, but after not eating for the entire day, any type of food will satisfy my stomach. I don't even care about how childish I'm acting; pretending like I don't enjoy something just to get the upper hand.

The silence at the table is almost palpable, and I wonder if Ciel is actually mad at me. He hasn't spoken to me throughout the entire meal, instead letting Sebastian do all the talking. I don't blame him, though. Why wouldn't he be upset with me? He thinks that I tried to kill his fiancée. Sure, I didn't actually, but he doesn't know that…

"So," I say in an attempt to break the silence. Surreptitiously, I check to see how Ciel reacts to me. When he doesn't seem to disapprove, I continue. "I haven't really seen you for the entire day. How have you been doing?"

I contemplate asking him about Elizabeth, about the status of the poor little girl. But after running the thought through my head multiple times, I realise that it's probably not the smartest idea to do so.

"Lizzy is recovering nicely."

That catches me off guard. I blink twice. "Hm?"

Ciel puts his utensils down on his finished plate. He uses a handkerchief to wipe his lips. I look down at my plate to realise that I'm hardly halfway through my meal, despite how much I like it. I guess the silence really killed my appetite.

"That is what you have been wondering, yes?" Ciel says. "You should just ask next time. I don't find small talk to be quite as interesting."

"Right." I square my shoulders in an attempt to look more confident. "That is what I wanted to ask. Thank you. That is good to hear."

After that, silence falls between us again. I awkwardly slice at my steak. "It seems that Lizzy has taken quite a liking to you."

"Has she?" I reply, unable to stop the little smile spreading across my lips. That sweet little girl. She probably easily gets attached to anyone. However, Elizabeth taking a liking to me is probably the last thing that Crimson wants. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. I trust you."

"You what?" My eyes widen.

"I do not see any reason not to." Ciel replies. "Additionally, as much as I hate to admit this, it is in Elizabeth's nature to cry and be upset whenever she is missing something that she likes."

I almost don't hear the second half of what he's saying. "Thank you." I say in disbelief. "Thank you so much. You must know – it really wasn't me who tapered with her dress."

"Oh?" Ciel smirks. The arrogant look does not suit his innocent, cute face. "You are quite defensive for someone who is supposedly innocent."

"I _am _innocent!"

"I'd hope so." The small amused smile appears on his face again. When his eyes meet mine, I can see a small trace of humour dancing in them. "Relax. I was only teasing you."

"Oh," I say, letting my shoulder's drop. That was… dark. _Extremely _dark. He was joking about me being the potential murderer to his fiancée. Even I wouldn't joke about something like that. Does he think that it's okay?

"We'll investigate more about who the actual person may be when we return. Right now, Elizabeth is recovering, and that should be all that matters." Ciel's voice brings me out of my thoughts.

My ears perk. "Return? Where are you and Sebastian going?"

"Not just us." Ciel replies. "You too. You _do _still want to search for your sister, right?"

I feel a wave of shock roll over me. After all that, and Ciel _still _wants to help me? He says it so casually, as well. This little kid sitting across from me, the one casually playing with his tea cup is sitting so nonchalantly, as if his offer to give me even the slightest chance to save my sister doesn't mean the world to me.

I manage a nod.

"Very well, then." His hair swivels as he stands up from his chair. "Quickly finish your meal. Afterwards, how about a game of chess? I do believe that I'll be quite bored."

**.~~~**

**im **

**so**

**sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy**

**and i dont even have a good reason why. school kept me busy for a week or two and then afterwards, writing this just hasnt been quite a priority anymore. but no worries, i always have it in mind so im determined to finish this. **

**so, im sorry if valentina is a bit too lovey dovey towards sebastian in this chapter _ ive been writing their love scenes before i started writing this, and i havent got a good feel on where their relationships is yet again. ill be rereading my old chpaters (oh god) to sense it c:but hey, at least this means that they'll definitely be later chapters since i already wrote them :P**

**on the other hand, ive planned out my arcs, but then i realise that the romance between the two will be very... very slow. i mean, i dont think theyre going to kill until the 3rd or 4th arc o.o which might take a while :P**

**so is that okay? should i change it so they fall in love, or should i keep it how it is :P**

**UPDATE IN 2-4 DAYS I CAN PROMISE THIS PLS PLS BELIEVE ME 3**

**AND MY REPLIES (i only have one im so sad):**

**CeruleanCat: ****no im not hispanic :P honestly the only reason i said adios is because i used to write on quizilla a lot and all these people had such cool exit from their chapters like "BATMAN OUT!" and other stuff and i got really jealous and wanted my own, so i started saying adios =.= i mean. i guess it kinda stuck. not saying its a good thing though :P  
><strong>ps you should update your story or else i will get very very sad

**adios~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**


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